Editing Saving Private Ryan (section)

===Morality and humanity===
Unlike some older WWII films that portrayed the soldiers as infallible heroes, ''Saving Private Ryan'' presents battles fought by brave but frightened civilians, the majority of whom at Omaha Beach were not combat veterans.<ref name="ThemesAtlantic"/><ref name="EbertHanks"/> Ebert believed much of the audience, including himself, would identify with Upham, someone completely unprepared for the realities of war but who must fight regardless.<ref name="ReviewEbert"/> Miller is the opposite: an experienced soldier who is scared and anxious because he knows exactly what to expect and is haunted by his responsibility for the lives of his men.<ref name="ThemesAtlantic"/><ref name="EbertHanks"/><ref name="ReviewLATimesTuran"/><ref name="FarOutMiller"/> Although 94 men have died under his command, Miller rationalizes that he can prioritize his mission over his men because each sacrifice was responsible for saving many more lives. However, his mission to rescue Ryan demands he risk the lives of several men to save just one.<ref name="ThemesAtlantic"/> Turan said Miller's trembling hands were a sign that he is "dangerously close to coming apart".<ref name="ReviewLATimesTuran"/> ''Far Out'' magazine wrote that the focus on Miller's ailment acknowledges the side effects of war such as post-traumatic stress disorder, something he suppresses to fulfil his duty.<ref name="FarOutMiller"/>

Spielberg said the mission to rescue Ryan cannot be morally or patriotically justified, risking eight lives to save one. This theme is reinforced when they encounter the sole survivor of a glider crash caused by heavy steel shielding added to protect a single general on board, resulting in 22 deaths. No character claims that the mission of Miller and his men is heroic, and the men express the grief their own mothers will feel should they be killed on this endeavor. The "toughest" soldier, Horvath, gives it meaning when he tells Miller that saving Ryan could be the one decent thing they can accomplish in "this whole godawful, shitty mess". Biguenet said that Spielberg is explicitly condemning their mission as an immoral act to force upon soldiers.<ref name="ThemesAtlantic"/> Ebert considered the decision to deviate from the mission to attack the German gun nest on the way to Ramelle to be a deliberate rebellion against their orders. The action is not part of their mission and it is possible to avoid the situation entirely, but it grants the soldiers the opportunity to do what they came to Europe for: to fight a war.<ref name="ReviewEbert"/> Hanks said the decision to stay with Ryan and defend Ramelle was the characters "bringing meaning to a situation that until then had been absurd".<ref name="EbertHanks"/>

While film critic Andrew Sarris found the German characters to match evil archetypes found in other WWII films, concluding with Upham's lesson that Steamboat Willie should have been killed earlier, ''Saving Private Ryan'' does not portray the Allied soldiers as unimpeachable heroes.<ref name="ReviewObserver"/><ref name="ThemesIndependent"/><ref name="ThemesAtlantic"/> Following Omaha Beach, two Allied soldiers laugh as they execute two pleading German soldiers, but the soldiers are speaking Czech, indicating they are potentially from German-conquered Czechoslovakia, forcibly conscripted into the war effort.<ref name="ThemesIndependent"/><ref name="ThemesAtlantic"/> Biguenet wrote that the Germans are not portrayed as any worse than the Americans, as they are similarly affected by the horrors of war and casually execute downed American soldiers. In ''Saving Private Ryan'', allegiances do not matter, all men are equal, and rules only matter until they conflict with the mission objective.{{sfn|Prior|2000|pp=142–143}}{{sfn|Auster|2002|p=102}}

Upham's transformation from cowardly interpreter to Willie's executioner shows the transformative realities of combat.<ref name="ThemesAtlantic"/> [[William J. Prior]] and Auster wrote that Upham represents respect for human life and moral decency when he interferes to prevent Steamboat Willie's execution, despite the fact that it would protect the mission. He offers the intellectual perspective of a civilian, but his lack of combat experience makes him unable to kill the prisoner, which results in the deaths of many of his allies.{{sfn|Prior|2000|pp=142–143}}{{sfn|Auster|2002|p=102}} Miller's experience means he is conscious of the risk involved in releasing Willie, but he is simultaneously struggling to cling to his own humanity and decency, believing that every time he kills he is moving "farther from home". Although Willie is the enemy, he is also a human with his own right to exist, and summarily executing him would further distance Miller from the self he and his wife knew.{{sfn|Prior|2000|p=143}} His decision to spare Willie and reveal his civilian background, returns to him a semblance of his humanity.{{sfn|Auster|2002|p=102}}