Private Ryan asks his wife if he has led a good life and I think by extension asks himself if he has “earned this” life. He is there with his wife, his children, and his grandchildren. The very next second, he morphs into the mature adult paying homage to Captain Miller’s gravestone at the Normandy battleground cemetery. One second, Private Ryan is standing over the body of Captain Miller. He is saying that it is our responsibility as well as the responsibility of Private Ryan to live a life from this point forward to earn this sacrifice. Thousands of soldiers died in World War II to save us from the tyranny of despotic regimes. ![]() ![]() We all have a responsibility to have an active role in our community. He also means “earn this” in a much broader sense. He means that Private Ryan needs to honor his fallen comrades with a life of service toward others. He means that multiple lives were lost in an effort to find Private Ryan and to bring him home to his family (that had already lost their other sons in the war). ![]() I must admit it took me awhile to really understand the full magnitude of this request at his death. To honor Victory-Europe Day 75 years ago, let me discuss a scene from the end of the movie, “Saving Private Ryan.” Every time I watch that movie, I am deeply moved by the sequence of events at the end.Īs the army captain, Captain Miller (portrayed by Tom Hanks), is dying on the bridge, he leans over to Private Ryan (portrayed by Matt Damon) and whispers in a dying gasp - “earn this”.
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