Benjamin H . Vandervoort Benjamin Hayes " Vandy " Vandervoort ( 3 March 1917 in Gasport , New York – 22 November 1990 in Hilton Head Island , South Carolina ) was a Colonel in the United States Army , who fought in World War II . He was twice awarded the Distinguished Service Cross . He was portrayed by John Wayne in the D - Day movie " The Longest Day " . Biography . Education . Vandervoort attended Washington College in Chestertown , Maryland , where he was a member of the Washington Players drama club , the YMCA , the Mount Vernon Literary Society , and the football and track teams . He was also an officer of the Theta Chi fraternity . He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1938 , having enlisted in the army as a private on 23 July 1937 . He was commissioned with the rank of second lieutenant on 16 March 1938 . World War II . Vandervoort transferred to the newly established paratroops in the summer of 1940 , and was promoted to first lieutenant on 10 October 1941 . Promoted to captain on 3 August 1942 , he served as a Company Commander in the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment , and was promoted to major on 28 April 1943 , and served as Operations Officer ( S - 3 ) in the 504th Parachute Regimental Combat Team at the invasion of Sicily and in the landings at Salerno . Promoted to lieutenant colonel on 1 June 1944 , he was the Commanding Officer of the 2nd Battalion , 505th PIR , during the airborne landings in Normandy . Vandervoort led his battalion in defending the town of Sainte - Mère - Église on 6 June in " Mission Boston " , despite having broken his ankle on landing . During " Operation Market Garden " in September 1944 , he led the assault on the Waal Bridge at Nijmegen while the 3rd Battalion , 504th PIR , made the assault crossing . General Matthew B . Ridgway described Vandervoort as " " one of the bravest and toughest battle commanders I ever knew " " . At Goronne he was wounded by mortar fire , so was unable to take part in the divisions ' advance into Germany . Post war . He was promoted to colonel on 7 July 1946 , and retired from the army on 31 August . After studying at Ohio State University he joined the Foreign Service in 1947 . He served as an Executive Officer in the Department of the Army in 1950 - 54 , acting as joint political adviser to the Commanding General United Nations Forces and UN Ambassador , Korea , in 1951 - 52 , and was studied at the Armed Forces Staff College in 1953 . He served as a military attaché at the US Embassy in Lisbon , Portugal , in 1955 - 58 , and was assigned to the Department of State in 1958 - 60 . He then served in the Executive Office of the Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA ) , from 1960 – 66 , also serving as a consultant on politico - military affairs to the US Army Staff in 1960 , and as a plans and program officer on the Army Staff , Department of Defense , in 1964 . Benjamin Vandervoort died on the 22 November 1990 at the age of 73 years at a nursing home from the effects of a fall . He had two children with his wife Nedra ; a son and a daughter . Awards and decorations . In the early 1990s , the United States Army Center for Leadership at Fort Leavenworth , Kansas , selected one or two colonels or lieutenant colonels from every American War from the Revolution through Vietnam . Colonel Vandervoort was selected as the outstanding ground battle commander for World War II . He is honored by a brief biography and several photographs in what is known as " Leadership Hallway " located on the second floor of Bell Hall . Portrayed in film . Vandervoort was portrayed by actor John Wayne in the film version of Cornelius Ryan ' s history of D - Day , " The Longest Day " . The role was actively sought by Charlton Heston , but the last - minute decision of John Wayne to take a role in the film prevented Heston from participating . At the time of filming in 1962 , Wayne , at 55 was 28 years older than Vandervoort had been on D - Day ; Vandervoort being a decade younger than Wayne . In Museum . Original WWII uniforms and memorabilia of Col . Ben Vandervoort are on display at this museum : DECEMBER 44 MUSEUM - Battle of the BULGE - La Gleize , Belgium