Spielberg Honored by U.S. Defense Department


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	Spielberg Honored by U.S. Defense Department By Frank Sietzen, Jr. Washington Bureau Chief posted: 11:23 am ET 11 August 1999

Speilberg to be honored for WWII film

WASHINGTON – Movie director and Hollywood sci-fi guru Steven Spielberg will receive high honors Wednesday at the Pentagon for his 1998 film of a heroic World War II rescue.

Spielberg will receive the Department of Defense Public Service Award for his film "Saving Private Ryan".

Defense Secretary William Cohen will hail Spielberg’s treatment of U.S. military forces as "inspiring and patriotic" in ceremonies at the River entrance of the Pentagon starting at 11:30 am Wednesday.

Following the military welcome ceremony, Cohen will escort Spielberg to his offices where the awards ceremony will take place.

"Saving Private Ryan" recounts a fictional rescue of a U.S. Army private whose brothers had been killed during the Second World War. The film, starring Oscar-winner Tom Hanks, is set in the days following the D-Day invasion of France in 1944.

In addition to his work on the WWII film, Spielberg directed "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial". He has also produced several other science fiction films, including "Men in Black" and "Deep Impact," His current projects include a production of "The Martian Chronicles," due out in 2000.