On July 24, 1998, the director Steven Spielberg’s World War II
epic, Saving Private Ryan, was released in theaters across the
U.S. The film, which starred Tom Hanks and Matt Damon, was
praised for its authentic portrayal of war and was nominated
for 11 Academy Awards. It took home five Oscars, for Best
Director, Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Film Editing
and Best Sound Effects Editing.

The film’s lengthy opening scene was a bloody re-enactment of
American troops landing at Omaha Beach in Normandy, France,
on June 6, 1944.

Disneyland, Walt Disney’s metropolis of nostalgia, fantasy and
futurism, opened on July 17, 1955. The $17 million theme park
was built on 160 acres of former orange groves in Anaheim,
California, and soon brought in staggering profits. Today,
Disneyland hosts more than 18 million visitors a year, who
spend close to $3 billion.

Movie producer and animator Walt Disney sits in front of 
Sleeping Beauty’s Castle at the grand opening of Disneyland 
in 1955.

The Disneyland parking lot, full on opening day, July 17, 1955.

On July 15, 1903, the newly formed Ford Motor Company took its
first order from Chicago dentist Ernst Pfenning: an $850 two-
cylinder Model A automobile with a tonneau (or backseat). The
car, produced at Ford’s plant on Mack Street (now Mack Avenue)
in Detroit, was delivered to Dr. Pfenning just over a week later.

Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947)

On July 15, 1988, Die Hard, an action film starring Bruce Willis as wisecracking New York City cop John McClane, opened in theaters
across the U.S.  A huge box-office hit, the film established Willis
as a movie star and spawned three sequels. Die Hard also became Hollywood shorthand for describing the plot of other actions films,
as in “Speed is Die Hard on a bus.”

Walter Bruce Willis turned 67 in March.

On March 30, 2022, Willis’s family announced that
he was retiring as he had been diagnosed with
aphasia, a disorder caused by damage to the area
of the brain that controls language expression and
comprehension.

On July 12, 1957, Dwight D. Eisenhower (left) became the first president to ride in a helicopter.

Although experimental military helicopters had been tested since
1947, it was not until 10 years later that a president considered
using the new machine for short, official trips to and from the
White House. Eisenhower suggested the idea to the Secret
Service, which approved of the new mode of transportation,
seeing it as safer and more efficient than the traditional
limousine motorcade.

 
The Bell H-13J helicopter pictured on Presidents Day,2018.