Trask
- Rank: Private
- Occupational Specialty: Paratrooper
- Unit: 101st Airborne Division
On June 13, 1944, Private Trask was a member of a 101st Airborne Division unit that was ordered to hold or destroy the bridge that crossed the Merderet River at the village of Ramelle. The paratroopers were joined by a Ranger squad that had been sent to retrieve Private James Ryan. Trask updated the Rangers on their meager store of weapons, and afterwards both groups planned a defense of the village in preparation for an expected German attack.
Once the attack commenced, the Rangers and paratroopers were quickly overrun by the Germans, who had superior numbers and equipment. While attempting to reach a fallback position, Trask was caught and beaten to death by a German soldier.
Although cut from the final film, a scene was shot in which Trask is run over by the advancing German Tiger tank. Only one take could be made, and the tank driver had to use radio communications in order to avoid running over Ian Porter. A stuntman was hidden nearby, and as a contingency plan he would grab Porter and both would jump over the sandbags and into the canal.
Fact vs. Fiction
Trask is a fictional character.
