Director, Steven Spielberg

"How do you find decency in the hell of warfare? That was the paradox that first attracted me to the project."

book soldier; his first priority is to take care of his Captain, to protect him and make sure that he gets out alive.

If Sergeant Horvath is Miller's "right arm", then the thorn in his side is Private Reiben, a wise-cracking New Yorker who makes no secret of his resentment about risking his life to save one private.

The rest of the squad consists of Private Caparzo, a tough New York Italian with a gentle side; Wade, the squad's dedicated medic; Private Jackson, a Bible-quoting Tennessee sharpshooter whose dead aim proves to be a godsend; and Private Mellish, a Jewish kid from Yonkers who knows he has more at stake in fighting the Nazis. The one outsider joining the group is Corporal Upham, a bookish young man who finds himself "drafted" into Captain Miller's squad when their interpreter is killed on D-Day.

Private James Ryan becomes a symbol for Miller and his men, because his going home would represent all of them going home.