Movie 'Lone Survivor' Features Story Of Littleton's Danny Dietz
LITTLETON, Colo. (CBS4) - This week the movie "Lone Survivor" will open nationwide. It tells the story of four Navy SEALs on a covert mission in Afghanistan.
Only one survived, but one of the men killed was Danny Dietz from Littleton. CBS4's Valerie Castro went to the local screening of the movie and talked to the Dietz family about why the story is so important.
It's a Hollywood production that hits hard for Danny Dietz's hometown. Dietz was killed in action fighting against the Taliban in 2005. He continued to fire his weapon at the enemy even after he'd been mortally wounded.
"I'm the one who made it out and delivered the news of how hard their son fought, but I'm also the one who lived, and their son died," Marcus Luttrell said.
The film is based on a book written by Luttrell, the lone survivor of the mission in Afghanistan. It's a story the Dietz family says needs to be kept alive.
"It's something that needs to be shown, what those young men and women are doing for our freedom," Danny Dietz's father Dan Dietz said.
"I want everyone to remember who he was as a person, that he was just, he was our son," Danny Dietz's mother Cindy Dietz said.
Actor Emile Hirsch portrays Danny Dietz in the film. He was in attendance for the pre-release screening in Littleton.
"It's been a really great experience of getting to know the family, getting to hear stories about what Danny was like, who he was," Hirsch said.
The Dietz family says they now consider Hirsch part of the family. Bringing him home to where Danny was raised and is now honored with a bronze statue was an important part of the process. They wanted him to see what Danny means to his home state and what the film means to his community.
"The people of Colorado love him to death," Dan Dietz said.
"What's been so amazing is to see the outpouring of love that people in the community have for my brother and his teammates," sister Tiffany Dietz said. "And I think that warms our hearts and helps us go on just knowing that so many people are remembering him and keeping his story alive."
Danny Dietz will always be remembered as a hometown hero who gave his life as a Navy SEAL.
The movie opens on Friday.