Decided to drop this a day early bc we were so excited to get this out there! Thanks to our Patron DP for requesting this one! It was a great film throughout and it definitely made us appreciate all the things we take for granted in life bc without the brave men and women in our military who have fought or still do now, we would not be able to do the things we have the privilege of doing! *Thanks for protecting us everyday!* We will see you guys Monday with Ant-Man ! Love you all! Happy Belated Labor Day! www.patreon.com/theoctobers

My Father was 19-yrs-old when he landed on Omaha beach on June 6, 1944. He fought his way across France hedgerow by hedgerow until he was peppered with shrapnel from a German artillery round earning him a purple heart and a ticket home. His four brothers also served in the European theater. What really gave me pride though was finding out that when I was a kid, my Parents used to drive to Travis air force base on the weekends to help welcome home returning Vietnam veterans that they didn't even know.

One thing in all of these reactions I have never heard anyone mention is that at the end of the movie when Ryan's wife comes up to him as he is front of the Captain's grave she reads his name like she didn't know who he was. Ryan probably never spoke of what happened to anyone, not even his wife. It is heartbreaking.

This movie really captures the brutality of WW2. The soldiers surrendering at Normandie are actually saying “Please don't shoot me! I am not German, I am Czech, I didn't kill anyone! I am Czech!" The amount of displaced people sent to fight a terrible fight is unimaginable.

My great grandpa fought on Normandy. When he was alive we watched this movie and that was the only time I ever saw him cry in his life. He just watched real quiet crying and repeating the names of the buddies he had lost on the beach and after. He still knew everything about them. Their names, their families, what they looked like. He told me he had to remember them because if he (and others) forgot them then they’d truly die.

A veteran was once asked how accurate the Omaha beach landing scene was. His answer was: "Not enough bodies." Kinda tells us all just how bad things were during that landing. Also, Matt Damon's story about the Ryan brothers was totally improvised. Great acting on his part. Great reaction to a classic!

After all these years I still believe that Saving Private Ryan does it as one of the best when it comes to realistically portray PTSD. The nightmares, the screams, the feeling of almost being completely numb and knowing you won't receive justice. It perfectly portrays the sheer horror in the eyes of soldiers and civilians. Its the same look I've seen a hundred times before as a medic in the Gaza Strip and Mosul in 2014 and 2017. That look of pure despair when people lose family members but also the look of pure hope after reuniting with their loved ones, after we pulled them out of the rubble. The grey area where you see good people become bad people after their home is bombed by foreign countries and how you as a medic (in this movie as a soldier) needs to deal with these type of situations. Its the same when you're a young soldier who suddenly witnesses the most gruesome things. This movie brings that aspect forward really well. The pain becomes so agonizing when you lose friends (in my case families I was invited to eat with) that every memory, every image and even smell causes you too break down, to the point it feels almost impossible to eat, drink and even stand up. WW2 and these men who landed on Normandy fought for a righteous cause. I still feel that I was lied too when I see how the media reported the situations I've seen over there and when I see how the U.S. classified certain reports we reported in cooperation with NGO's. Unfortunately this is the reality of war. Lies, chaos, pain and fortunately also peace.

The guns in the bunkers were MG42s, nicknamed "Hitler's Buzzsaw" by the Allies for the sound it made when firing, and that it had nearly twice the fire rate of the comparable American B.A.R. and the British Bren gun. They could also fire almost continuously since they had stored spare barrels with them to switch out when overheated. The medics on the beach were trying to save that one guy because he was the company surgeon, and they knew without him that many more troops would die from wounds that only he could treat. Combat helmets then were just hard hats to protect from explosion debris. They were not bulletproof in the slightest and that one guy got EXTREMELY lucky that that one shot hit at such an angle to be deflected. The two men surrendering that couldn't be understood were Czech conscripts, saying that they hadn't killed anyone, they were intentionally missing shots. The German army conscripted a lot of men from occupied territories to match the growing Allied presence in Europe. Those blimps are actually called barrage balloons, which were set up with thick cables that would cause enemy planes making strafing attacks to hit them with their wings, shearing them and causing them to crash. Many young men were drafted at this time, especially if they had special skills like Upham's translation ability, and those with a college education were sent straight to officer training. I hate how a lot of people react to Upham during the last battle with scorn and hatred, as if they understand what it's like to be in the middle of a battle. No one knows how they'll react in that situation until they're in it. I'd like to think I'd charge bravely up those stairs to the rescue, but I could just as easily freeze in pants-shitting terror, and so could you. So could anyone. This story was inspired by the real Sullivan brothers, all five of whom were serving on board the USS Juneau when it was sunk at Guadalcanal, killing them all. The US War Dept. adopted the Sole Survivor policy after this, preventing all of the members of one family from enlisting/serving to avoid tragedies like this. The Navy commissioned a Fletcher-class destroyer, naming it the USS The Sullivans in their honor. The ship's motto: "We stick together"

When Tom Hanks says Earn This he was speaking to all of us

This movie got part of its inspiration from the true story of the Sullivan brothers from Iowa. They were all killed during WWII on the USS Juneau in the pacific. Due to the Bixby family having only lost two of the five sons they thought dead in the civil war, the Sullivan brothers were - and remain - the single greatest wartime sacrifice of any American family.

13:33 The gray haired officer on the right talking is former USMC Captain Dale Dye Jr . He is a highly decorated Vietnam combat vet. Dye is also the military consultant for this movie and others like Platoon and Casualties of War. When directors want the actors in a movie to appear authentic the call him.

"I've probably seen one of his movies, but I really couldn't tell you" > I just went from 44 to 94 years old.

This was especially emotional for me, as the actor who played old man Ryan looks surprisingly like my grandfather who fought in France & Belgium. He never talked much about fighting, and usually just talked about guys he remembered. In '81-'83 we worked together doing salvage on demolition jobs when I was 18-20, and sometimes when aircraft flew overhead, he would get real quiet, and every morning when we entered an abandoned building, he would sometimes go in a different way, and we never knew where he was until he was right back with us. My mom said he always did that (as if he had made sure the area was secure).

To gain a more accurate sense of the horrors of D-Day, keep in mind that the allies attacked at 5 different beaches of Normany. The Americans at Omaha and Utah, the Brits at Gold and Sword, and the Canadians at Juno. The allies advanced from the foothold they gained to move inland to free Europe. The Russians advanced toward Germany, eventually taking Berlin, which ended the war.

My grandfather fought on the front of “The Battle of the Bulge”. He never ever once spoke to me, my brother or my cousins about it. When we were kids we found an old cookie tin in a drawer filled with military medals. He politely asked us to put them back. I’ll never forget that. * my dad and his siblings relayed the stories to us kids.

My grandfather landed on that beach 90 days after D-Day, and fought all the way to Germany by the end of the war. I saw this with him in the theater when it came out.

This is what your Grandfather/ Great Grandfather, went through between the ages of teenager to mid 20s. Highest respect in the world for theses men. The real Veterans say it was a 1000 times worse than this, an it went one for hours.

The Pianist & Schindler's List are even more enthralling

I saw this movie when i was younger. At the end when Capt. Miller says “earn it”. I took that as a message to all of us to earn it, and I have been proudly serving in the military, and always remembering those who came before me, and hope I “earn it” for them.

Awesome! If someone can watch this movie and not be moved emotionally, then they have no soul. I'm glad you guys did this one.

What a great movie. Band of Brothers series is done by Hanks and Spielberg, and is f*&#kin awesome, and so is The Pacific.

I worked in a movie theater when this came out. A lot of D Day veterans came to see it but had to leave the theater during the beach landing scene because it was too real.

A veteran who participated in those beach landings was asked what he thought of the movie when he was coming out of the theater. He replied "They didn't make it bad enough."

This will always be the most difficult but most important movie I’ve seen. I cry like a baby through the whole thing tbh. People sacrifice everything and more for the possibility at a better future.

Two parts just get to me so much, the opening at Normandy when the old Ryan is overcome with emotion at the captains grave. The other is when they went out to deliver the news of the three sons to the mother, just can't stop tearing up at those scenes.

I think there's 3 movies that every single person must watch once in their life (and I understand if they never want to watch it again). This one Schindler's List American History X All devastating, brutal, horrific, shocking, and grim. We must never forget history lest we are doomed to repeat it

No, General Marshall didn’t have the letter to Mrs. Ryan in his book. He had a letter from President Lincoln to a Mrs. Bixby, the mother of five Union (the North) Soldiers in the Civil War who were all killed in battle. The President wrote her a personal letter to thank her. He read it to those subordinate offices to tell them that he wanted Ryan found. The cool thing was General Marshall was reading it to them, but didn’t need to look at the paper anymore because he had every word memorized. It was a beautifully worded letter to convey such sincere gratitude to that mother. She lost all five sons, and he didn’t want Mrs. Ryan to lose all of her sons.

Yalls edits are amazing... thanks for letting us see so much of the movie with yall... ❤

You have no idea what it’s like to go through this. As a partially disabled combat veteran of the United States Navy, I can tell you that the cause and death was overwhelming. I still dream about it. I wake up in cold sweats. I blame myself for my friends deaths and all of it has cost me my marriage and family. The nightmares never go away. They never go away!

Fantastic job, you two! This is the most understanding and comprehensive reaction of this powerful film that I've seen. Thank you so much!

She isn't "confused"; she's emotionally moved (which may or may not have actually happened) by the fact that three brothers were killed.

A perfect movie

The opening scene Ryan goes to the grave of his brother, at the end he's at the grave of Capt. Miller's grave. His family is directly behind him at the first grave site, at the end, his family remains at a respectful distance, except for his wife who has no idea who Miller is. Ryan went home and never told anyone about that day in Ramell. The opening scene Ryan goes to the grave of his brother, at the end he's at the grave of Capt. Miller's grave. His family is directly behind him at the first grave site, at the end, his family remains at a respectful distance, except for his wife who has no idea who Miller is. Ryan went home and never told anyone about that day in Ramell. Spielberg researched small details, for instance, Pvt Jackson's right thumb has a black mark on it. That's actually a bruise that many U. S. riflemen had caused from getting their thumb caught in the loading mechanism from not locking the bolt back properly when loading/reloading the M1 Garand rifle. It was called "Garand thumb". The Hitler Youth Knife is more literary liberty than fact. That knife is a hiking knife given to members of the Hitler Youth Corps, which was much like the Boy Scouts in training while being indoctrinated with the ideology of National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi). The only other group they were issued to were members of the SA. This knife was never part of a soldier of the Wehrmacht. As for the reaction of Carparzo and Mellish, it is highly unlikely an average G.I. would have known what that knife was and its symbolism. The matter of Mellish crying is also not likely as the Allies didn't find out about the fate of Jews in Europe until the first concentration camp was liberated April 4, 1945. The war in Europe ended May 7, 1945. So, following the real timeline, Mellish dies before the Allies knew anything about concentration and death camps. But, after-all, it is Hollywood. Saving Private Ryan is not based on the Sullivan brothers. Fritz Niland became the basis for Private Ryan. He was dropped behind enemy lines on D-Day and spent five days in the French countryside, eventually earning a Bronze star in combat for taking a French. Robert Rodat first came up with the plot in 1994 when he saw a monument in a cemetery in Tonawanda, New York. The monument was to the Niland Brothers - 4 young American men who fought in the Second World War. When three of the Nilands were reported killed, the surviving brother - Fritz - was sent home. This inspired Rodat to write his movie. The average age of a U. S. troops armed forces personnel during WW II was 26 years old. Selective Service draft age range was 18 years of age to 45 years. The average age in Vietnam War was 22, not 19 as any think. There are 26 military cemeteries across Normandy, but the most famous and visited site is the poignant Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer. The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in France is located in Colleville-sur-Mer, on the site of the temporary American St. Laurent Cemetery, established by the U.S. First Army on June 8, 1944 as the first American cemetery on European soil in World War II. The cemetery site, at the north end of its half mile access road, covers 172.5 acres and contains the graves of 9,387 of our military dead, most of whom lost their lives in the D-Day landings and ensuing operations. In real life with the Nilands, it actually turned out later that another of the brothers was alive - he’d been held captive in a Burmese POW camp. Attempts to point out the "discrepancies" between the stories of Fritz Niland and James Ryan are often misguided, as Ryan is only based on Niland, and is not meant to be (or claimed to be) a completely accurate representation of him. The differences in the two stories seem to stem in part from the fact that the true story of Sergeant Niland and his brothers is often reported inaccurately. The character of Private James Ryan is a mixture of fact and fiction, with some of the fictional elements coming from the erroneous stories about the Niland brothers. The German credited as "Steamboat Willie" who was released by Capt. Miller is not the German who engaged and killed Pvt Stanley "Fish Mellish during hand-to-hand combat. "Steamboat Willie" was in the Heer (Army) of the Wehrmacht and the other was in the Waffen SS which was a paramilitary organization and not part of the Wehrmacht. Originally, the SS uniform differed from the Wehrmacht uniform-whereas the regular army wore field grey, the SS wore black, head to toe (although later the SS did adopt field grey and often wore camouflage pattern uniform. American troops were brown and they didn't wear jackboots. The lightning bolt SS insignia can be seen on the right collar lapel of the German as he passes Upham and reaches the bottom of the staircase. During the Battle at Ramelle, Upham became shell shocked and was unable to save a .30 cal team from a German soldier because he was too frozen with fear to do anything about it. He carried all the .30 caliber ammo at the battle of Ramelle, but was unable to do his job because he was always either pinned down or too afraid to move. He signified the loss of innocence in war and thought that soldiers could be civil, but he later succumbed to the evils of war and made up for his cowardice when he shot Steamboat Willie for killing Miller even after the latter had shown Willie mercy earlier. Not only did Upham represent the loss of innocence of war but he also symbolized the "Every-man". His illusion of neutrality faded when he finally had to pick and side and kill Steamboat Willie, his character revelation being how he finally understood the horrors of war. It became clear that Upham had turned into a hardened and true soldier because of the whole experience. Upham's rank was Tech 5 Corporal (E-5), that meant he was technician in a specialty area. His was maps and translator, he was not a combat infantryman and was never trained for front-line duty. Gunnery Sergent Hartman explained it this way in the movie Full Metal Jacket: "It is your killer instinct which must be harnessed if you expect to survive in combat. Your rifle is only a tool. It is a hard heart that kills. If your killer instincts are not clean and strong you will hesitate at the moment of truth. You will not kill. "The way the next of kin was notified of their loved one was killed in action during WW II was by Western Union telegram delivered by a bicycle riding messenger. If you were being notified of multiple deaths as was the case in this film, notification was done in-person by a military officer, usually from the same branch of service as the deceased when possible. That's why the mother upon seeing the officer exit the car momentarily froze knowing that meant at least 2 of her boys were either KIA or MIA, as the priest exits the car, she staggers and completely collapsed. Unfortunately, you didn't include that in your video presentation. That is one of the most important scenes in the movie. The mother speaks no lines in the movie, yet her breakdown brought a flood of tears form movie goers in theaters across the nation. Another important scene is it is clear from the few lines Ryan's wife speaks that she has never heard the name of Capt. John Miller, this means John has never spoken to her about what happened that day in Ramelle. What many missed is listening to Ryan speaking at the Miller's grave of how he thought about what those 8 men did for him every day was not guilt, but commitment. There are units assigned to recover, bury and mark graves. Usually these were temporary battlefield cemeteries. As hostilities moved farther away, a more permanent site would be selected, at the family's request, whenever possible, the remains would be returned to the United States. At the Normandy Cemetery Visitors Center, you'll find the following inscription: IF EVER PROOF WERE NEEDED THAT WE FOUGHT FOR A CAUSE AND NOT FOR CONQUEST, IT COULD BE FOUND IN THESE CEMETERIES. HERE WAS OUR ONLY CONQUEST: ALL WE ASKED … WAS ENOUGH … SOIL IN WHICH TO BURY OUR GALLANT DEAD.General Mark W. ClarkChairman, American Battle Monuments Commission, 1969-1984

1. Many WWII vets left the theaters because the D-Day battle scenes were so realistic. 2. The German Captain Miller was talked into letting go is the same one that killed him. Upham finally put him down. 3. The story Ryan tells Miller about the last time he saw his brothers was made up by Matt Damon. He was told to say something interesting, so he did, and it was kept in the movie. 4. There really was a USS Sullivans (DD- 68) dedicated to the brothers lost on one ship. 5. I did 24 years in the US Navy. My favorite character is Private Jackson/sniper and my second favorite is Sargent Horvath. RIP Tom Sizemore😇 6. Sizemore also played Boxman in "Flight of the Intruder", a movie I'm in briefly.

The man who read the Bixby letter was George Marshall. General Marshall was the Chief of Staff of the US Army and would later become the architect of the Marshall Plan. That master stroke rebuilt war torn Europe and Japan, stopped the spread of Soviet influence, and laid the foundation of seventh five years of global prosperity previously unknown in human history. George Marshall was a genius and a man of immense conviction and decency. He is, in my estimation, the greatest man this country ever produced. If the world were a just place, cities would be renamed for him.

The blimps were called "barrage balloons." They were intended to keep enemy fighter planes from being able to fly over the fleet. They also absorbed the impacts of cannon shells in a barrage (cannon attack) so the the bombs would not explode directly on the ships.

My Dad served I the Pacific during the war. He was in the(in combat zones) Coast Guard and earned 2 purple Hearts. When Pearl Harbor and this movie came out, he told us he lived it and he didn't want see it. Obviously he wasn't he wasn't at either spot but, combat. He lost two brothers during the war.

I always forget Nathan Fillion and Ted Danson are in this. (Fillion was the "wrong" Ryan who had brothers too young to be combatants; Danson shows up as a commander shortly after that scene). Great reaction, guys. Gold content.

I am a combat veteran . Thank you for this and God bless you both.

The Normandy sequence is one of the great sequences in war films of all time, if not THE greatest. It's hard to top. Spielberg hit this one outta the park.

An amazing film. I saw this movie first in the theater with my 3 sons. When the film was over no one left until the credits completed. Then the entire crowd stood silently and exited the theater without speaking. I've seen one other film where the reaction was that intense. That would be another Spielberg film. That other film is Schindler's List. Your reaction as you watched and completed it were terrific! As we say in Texas; y'all be safe.

I was 11 years old when I first saw this movie. I am 37 now, and I still have not gotten over Wade's death.

I have 4 members of my near family that was in the ww2 my grandfather who a marine in the Pacific and 3 of my grandmother's first cousins one was in Pacific and 2 two who were saw action from North Africa to Normandy, and the Siegfried Line. I as a Vet myself saw this movie in the Theater when it was released, and along with many other vets from WW2 to Present at the time of the movie's release, we had came out of the theater with, for the most part the same reaction to seeing the movie, it was the closest to actually being there, the only thing that was missing was the smell of combat!

You guys did a fantastic job. I've seen a bunch of reactions to this and yours is easily one of the best. Just a great job, thoughtful comments, well edited. Thank you guys.

It was a series of moral dilemmas. Not just the saving private Ryan, but the strategic sacrifice of life at the d day invasion knowing the inevitable loss of life, to the decision not to shoot the burning enemy and end their suffering, to the shooting of surrendering soldiers, to trying to save the girl, taking out the machine guns rather than going around it, shooting only the enemy who was released only to come back in circulation as predicted, Ryan not leaving his company when he was ordered to do so, to the sitting on Ryan to keep him out of danger…just a masterpiece on the absurd but very real ethics of war. And of course the ethical responsibility we all have to earn the gifts of life and freedom we have because of so many who gave their lives so we could enjoy these gifts! Thank you and God Bless all of our service men and women!

My father was in World War 2 and Korea, his father in World War 1. Some of my ancestors were in the American Revolution, and some in the Civil War. I know that all they ever wanted was to go back to having lives as civilians in peace.

A touch of Spielberg’s genius and knowledge is when the two American Rangers, having survived the beach landing shoot two soldiers in German uniforms trying to surrender. They’ve got their hands up, they’re in German uniforms, but they can clearly be heard to be speaking, from memory, Czech. This is historically accurate. The beaches were defended by a mix of German units and units filled with Eastern European men, essentially, ‘pressganged’ into service by the Germans as they had moved eastward 3 years before. There were ‘volunteers’ from virtually every country the Germans had gone through, including Russians, Ukrainians, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Lithuanians, Slovenians and many more. We’re talking thousands of men, so they’re isn’t just one version of the story but, basically, they were given the choice of putting on a German uniform or being sent to a POW camp or killed. These ‘Ost’ or Eastern Battalions were sent to ‘quiet’ areas, like Normandy. So, pro/con those men’s experiences, why don’t we? Well, they spent 3 years on the Normandy coast digging ditches and stringing barbed wire and such. Compared to German soldiers who were actively fighting in North Africa or Russia, they didn’t have it so bad. However, they were barely paid, in units considered ‘unreliable’ and yet, still expected to fight against the men from the US, England & Canada, three nations these men had no beef with, when they came. If they failed to fight, ran away or failed to follow any other order, they could be summarily executed by the German sergeants and junior officers placed over them. Since we’re talking thousands of men, so, again, not one story applies to all of them. Spielberg has the two men trying to surrender trying to explain that they’re NOT German….. but were killed anyway. I can imagine some of these men did fight, I can imagine many dying, whether they fought or not, I can imagine many fighting until they ran out of ammunition, then trying to surrender. We know many successfully surrendered. A few joined the Allied armies after that. I might imagine some even turned their guns on the closest Germans they could find once the shooting started.

So a little backround on Millers unit. It's not directly said but if you know WW2 history you can parse out their experience level. Sgt Horvath on Normandy fills a tin up with sand from France. Along side the tins are two others marked Africa and Italy. Also Sgt Horvath says he's been with Miller since Kasserine Pass, which was a major battle in Tunisia. So Captain Miller has been commanding his unit from 1942 through North Africa invading Sicily and then Italy before landing on Normandy. They have bee fighting for 2 years prior to Normandy. They were an experienced and elite company.

This fish died due to the artillery and mortar rounds hitting the water. The percussion is so great, especially traveling through water, it would rupture any living things insides.

And this is why we stand for the National Anthem.

I just found your site, I must say I've seen several young people react to this film and the understanding and heart you two have is so heartening to see! My dad was there D-Day on the USS Frankford destroyer. He helped take out several of the pillboxes so the soldiers could advance up the hill. Veterans in the theaters had to get up and leave until Normandy scenes had passed. They said it was so accurate all the was missing was the smell of diesel and blood.

Normally I roll with you two on the movie reactions but as a retired vet , this one I have to bow out because of some of the combat scenes. Hope you understand. Keep doin what you do though.

After this movie Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg made two true miniseries based off of memoirs “Band of Brothers” and “The Pacific” both are must watches. Truly amazing and accurate recreations of the war

So many have died for the freedom that gets scoffed at by many of those who won't even take the time to understand the sacrifices. Thanks for taking the time.

Some scoff at the German who died sitting on the table, saying that it wouldn't happen. Not so. As a cop, 20 or so years ago, I investigated the death of a 17 year old boy. He knelt on the floor and put a 20 guage shotgun, probably in his mouth. When found, he was still kneeling. The upper half of his head was gone. The lower half fell open, like a flower, with his brain stem sticking up like a stamen. But, he was still kneeling.

The soldier who was with Tom hanks and took a round in the chest appeared on the Graham Norton show in the red chair. Hanks who was a guest straight away said “do we know each other?” And talked about their experiences in Ireland filming this scene.

What the film doesn't show is the distance on the beach those guys had to run, which was about four football fields (400 yards)

God bless all the courageous veterans with nerves of steel who risked everything and sacrificed so much to protect our countries and preserve the freedoms we enjoy today! Tom Hank’s admonition to Private Ryan to “Earn this!” applies to each and every one of us. It reminds us of the great debt we owe to our nations’ war fighters because of the tremendous sacrifices they have made on our behalf. God bless all the souls - military and civilian - that we have lost in times of war! God bless America! God bless us all and grant us peace!

Those two surrendering soldiers in the beach seen who got shot, are actually speaking Czech. They were press ganged into joining the German army when their country was annexed by appeasement. Most people forced to fight for the Germans surrendered as soon as possible because they don't want to be there.

I'm glad you didn't hate on Upham as much as some reactors do. I think anyone who hates Upham after watching this movie has totally misread Spielberg's intent toward the character.

Jah bless. Another great movie that I remember vividly from seeing in theaters. My Gaga who served in the United States military for decades took me and my friends to see this. He went in the service when he was 18. We walked to the movies that day to see something completely different but ended up going to see this. The only time I ever throughout my life saw him show any emotion. He didn't say a thing but his face said it all. He was a straight soldier until the day he died.

My grandfather served on the USS Niblack DD-424 as a sonar officer, tasked with escorting supply convoys across the North Atlantic to Britain. My family has comm recordings of the events of the ship answering a distress call from one of their fellow destroyers that had been torpedoed by a German U-boat, and the screams, the frantic orders, the explosions and gunfire, it's harrowing. Very proud of that man for his role in hunting down those bastards and giving them what for.

Thank you, for playing the majority of the "Bixby letter". It was an epically-emotional part of the movie, and not many reactors play much of it.👍

This has to be the most intense and historically accurate depiction of the Normandy invasion..

This was a great reaction guys! Genuine. Well done 👏

I always think about the Ladies who typed up all those letter, the pain and sadness they must have gone home with everyday is overwhelming to even think about. I am sure it had a serious emotional toll on them foe the rest of their lives.

You guys are stronger than I was. The first time I saw that movie I was devastated.

Interesting to see how at first the guys in Tom Hanks unit think of Ryan only as a name, but when they inform the "wrong" Ryan and they see his (wrong ryan) reaction, they are still resentful, but they begin to think of Ryan as a person and not just a name

My mom's uncle died on that beach. God bless him. And all the men that died. Jesse Velasquez

14:47 It meant so much to him that he memorized it. He didn't look at it toward the end.

Great Reaction! Looking forward to checking out more of your channel. This may be my favorite movie of all time (so far).

The beginning of this is a depiction of the June 6, 1944 D-Day landing at Normandy in the beginning of the liberation of France. After that it is entirely FICTON, and the "saving private Ryan" theme omits what that's actually about -- which is a major defect in the screenplay. Four brothers named "Sullivan" were on the same Navy ship, and killed when it was sunk in the Pacific -- see the 1944 film "The Fighting Sullivans". As result the military established policy that brothers would not be deployed together. And I'll bet most "veterans" don't know hose facts, believing the FICTION about "Ryan" was actually about honor, rather than about minimizing the losses for families.

Great reaction! You have an excellent presentation and make great editing choices.

My grandfather was in the first wave at Normandy.He never wanted to talk about it

"Tell me I'm a good man". That's all I ever wanted. I've done everything to live my life for those I lost and I don't know that I lived up to their expectations. All I can do is pray and hope,

Great reaction. You two are really empathetic but also make it light for us to watch your video. ❤

Great Pod cast Thank you Hand Salute from an Old Nam Veteran 1971

11:35 The fish were killed by the pressure waves from bombs not bullies. 12:53 That was "the sole survivor rule." Adopted by the U.S. in 1942. 50:25 Over 78,000,000 people died in WWII 67% of them were civilians. 53:55 "A prisoner of war is a man that tries to kill you, failed and then asks you not to kill him" - Winston Churchill

You mentioned that you hadn’t seen any Steven Spielberg film; some of his more well-known were Jurassic Park, Jaws, E.T., the Indiana Jones movies, etc. But highly recommended as an equal to “Saving Private Ryan” is “Schindler’s List.” Also an extraordinary series that he and Tom Hanks produced is “Band of Brothers,” considered one of the greatest series ever made for tv.

My dearest Georgia friends, I’m SUPER proud of y’all for watching this one. I’ve visited the cemetery there above the beach. My family had come from Paris and we’d seen Louis XIV’s palace at Versailles just before. I remember being so much more moved by the beaches. I stood on the cliffs and was shocked that somebody, somewhere said, “Yeah….. we can do this!” I was so much more moved by the beaches because that grand palace at Versailles was all about one man, one king. These beaches where so many young men made the ultimate sacrifice just blew me away. Picture the average kid that died: he was 17-19 years old, just coming out of the Great Depression. He probably had never traveled more than 50 miles from wherever he was born. He joined the Army or was drafted after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He goes away to training somewhere, rides a ship across the Atlantic to a country he’s never been to, England, then goes ashore in another country he’d never been to and probably didn’t speak a word of French. Only to lose his life, possibly, minutes after arriving to the beach. It’s just truly humbling.

Upham is what happens when someone whose not trained for combat sees too much of the horrors of war too quickly. His job in the war is to translate documents behind the lines, his primary job is not to be an infantryman. He hasn’t even fired a rifle since basic. By comparison, Miller and his team are part of the 2nd Ranger Battalion. These guys, trained by the British Commandos, laid the foreground for modern day special forces teams we have today. They are hardcore to say the least. Had Miller’s two previous translators not been killed in action, Upham wouldn’t have been needed.

"I bet surviving that would feel like winning the lottery" - Sadly, and somewhat proudly, the vast majority think anything but. They're genuinely torn apart inside, because they lived, while others didn't. You'll notice that many WW2 veterans when they spoke, never referred to any of their own actions as heroic, or praise worthy. It's just what had to be done. But they'll say so about their fellow soldiers. Also, they save the highest praise for those who never made it back. But yeah, few of them consider it a lottery. From the outside looking in, it seems like what they earned was a lifetime of survivors guilt. An entirely separate layer of heartbreak.

You absolutely should be hard on Upham. He allowed his cowardice to sacrifice his comrades. Many people come to his defense saying garbage like, "some people can't take war". My time down range taught me that no one really handles it well. If we were there only for ourselves, we would have all crumbled. But we weren't. We were there to take care of our brothers in arms, and they would take care of us. Any man who freezes the way Upham did, should never be considered a man, much less a friend. It is the one unforgivable sin in warfare; to actively sacrifice your brothers in arms to your own cowardice. His role in the movie is to be the perspective of civilians and their moral judgement, far removed from the actual conflict. That man is worse than the enemy.

Summed it up well guys, always an emotional watch when I see Saving Private Ryan and always reminds me of the debt we owe to the fallen and all those who served.

To the brave men that stormed Normandy, we all will never forget. Also the same thing went through the Brave fireman, Ems, police that stormed up those stairs on 9/11 , you could see it in every fireman's face as tbey made tha walk to the building and up the stairs. We will never forget you all either 343 people died tha day, selfless and determined. As they were on the beaches of Normandy. Brothers Rwst in Peace 343

You 2 are brave souls. Tough nail-biting scenes to swallow, edge-of-your-seat, holding-your-breath battles. At least you got this one out da way!

It's not just about getting him home for his mother, he's the last of his bloodline.

I was on Juno Beach a few years ago, you can't take 2 steps without seeing rocks with bullet holes or impact damage. It was mind blowing!

As a veteran I am proud to see today’s interest in the military genre of movies. The advances in special effects have presented such an immersive visual effect, those without military experience can get a little idea of the “HARSH REALITY” our military can face. I had the honor to attend a special showing of “Saving Private Ryan” the second week of its theatrical release. The first two rows (floor level and one up) were reserved for WWII veterans & family. Just before the coming attractions showed, approximately 20 people were ushered to their seats. At the end only subdued sniffles and sobs could be herd with NOONE moving to leave. After a brief pause the first of the veterans got up to leave, while the rest of us in attendance gave them ALL a standing ovation as they left. There seems to be a flow-over effect of people watching some older movies; “Full Metal Jacket”, “Platoon”, “M*A*S*H”, “Apocalypse Now” etc. I think these movies are great but need to be viewed with the filter of social commentary for the time they were made. I would like to see reactions to two older movies, based on two of the most decorated war heroes. These movies, though not posing the fantastic special effects of today’s movies, contain just as much interest by the simple act of storytelling. The first is the story of one of the most decorated soldiers of WWI. The main character of the story (Alvin C York) chose actor Gary Cooper to portray him. Released in September 1941, just before America entered WWII, “Sergeant York”. The second story is about the MOST DECORATED soldier of WWII. The movie not only adapted from his autobiography (Audie Murphy) but starred him as well. From October 1955, just over ten years after the end of the war “To Hell and Back”.

I doubt they used the phrase, "Fire in the hole!" during that era. They DID use "FUBAR" -- "Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition".

I went back to a work mates flat in London one night to drink and his sister was there chilling. I was an Aussie fresh off the boat and mentioned I’d like to visit the D Day landing sites during my adventures . She grabbed her photo album and turns out she was a make up and props artist, she created the beach characters missing half bodies etc. Looked real even in the album with smiling actors laying on the sand chatting to her.

It is truly a moving experience to go there and walk the Cemeteries I traced My Grandpa and Great Grandpa's travels from both WWI and WWII Great Great-Grandpa was KIA in 1916 in the Somme, France he has no known grave Grandpa survived WWII landing in Normandy after the beaches were secured went on to fight in France and the on to Holland getting wounded in Holland in 1944 Grazed by a bullet on the left side of his face that left him with a big scar he never talked about his time in Europe always told me it was shaving accident and that I had to be careful when I grew up and started to shave we found a ton of stuff his time in the army in the chest that was always locked letters and his medal for getting wounded. I can't picture Grandpa firing a weapon in anger as he was so kind and gentle with us grandkids after reading his letters I am so proud of him and the rest of the men and even the women from this generation are and always will be The Greatest Generation may they all rest in peace.

Well, now you have unknowingly committed yourselves to watching Band of Brothers eventually. Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg were just beginning with this masterpiece. They trolled us so hard by the eye fade in the intro making us think Private Ryan was Captain Miller. Well played Spielberg. There are a million things I could say and corrections to be made but I won't. It can and will speak for itself. Legendary film making.

Not only the visuals, but the sound design of this film, stirs a living nightmare I can only image of the troops that endured this and other times of war.

The better depiction of the D-Day landing is "The Longest Day," made by adults who were alive during the war, and some of whom were with the landing. And see "Tora! Tora! Tora!" for the history of the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.

If you haven’t already you should watch the band of brothers mini series as it’s the natural follow up to this. 10 episodes with an 11th unofficial which is a documentary. Genuinely worth watching. Also you’re the only reaction channel I’ve seen so far that noticed the medic taking the hit in the canteen, props to you guys. That was a really impactful scene for me when I first watched the movie and it sorta kills me inside that no one seems to notice it

You say the Omaha invasion force knew they were going to die but they did not. The naval bombardment was supposed to destroy the hardened enemy positions but failed to do so making the assault far more deadly than it should have been. They were soldiers and they expected a fight but they did not expect to be failed by their higher ups and dropped into a meat grinder.

I Saw it when it came out. And still is hard to believe they made this almost 26 years ago.

FYI - the bixby letter is real letter that Lincoln wrote to Mrs Bixby, the text in the movie is verbatim to what the actual letter says.

My grandfather 18 at the time was an infantryman in the 1st infantry division who was one of the first to land ashore. He fortunately survived the events of dday and went on to fight in many battles in france. He was wounded in action whilst saving a soldier who was hit by shrapnel from artillery fire. It is with great pride that i can say he did his duty with the utmost courage and devotion. He was medically discharged afterwards and lived to tell his stories most are hair raising but most he could not talk about. He set an amazing example for me and i also can proudly say that i also today serve in the first infantry division just as he did those many years ago. God bless my country God bless all.