On June 6, 1944, chaos engulfs Omaha Beach as the U.S. Army launches its assault on Normandy. The 2nd Ranger Battalion faces relentless German artillery and machine gun fire. Amid the devastation, Captain John H. Miller regains his bearings and takes command, leading his men through the brutal onslaught. Despite heavy casualties, they push forward, securing a hard-fought victory.
Shortly after, the United States Department of War receives tragic news: three of the four Ryan brothers have been killed in action. The youngest, Private James Francis Ryan of the 101st Airborne Division, is missing in action. General George C. Marshall, unwilling to let a mother lose all her sons to the war, issues an order: Ryan must be found and sent home.
Miller is tasked with the mission and assembles a squad for the search. His team consists of his trusted right-hand man, Sergeant Mike Horvath; skilled but cynical Private Richard Reiben; sharpshooter Private Daniel Jackson; gentle-hearted medic Technician 4th Grade Irwin Wade; Private Stanley Mellish; Private Adrian Caparzo; and Corporal Timothy Upham, an inexperienced interpreter with no combat experience.
The squad’s search takes them to the bombed-out ruins of Neuville-au-Plain. There, they encounter paratroopers from the 101st Airborne and learn that Ryan may be further inland. Tragedy strikes when Caparzo is shot and killed while attempting to help a frightened young girl. Weighed down by their losses and resentful of risking their lives for one soldier, the squad presses on, questioning the value of their mission.
A mix-up occurs when they find James Frederick Ryan—who turns out to be the wrong man. That night, as they rest in a chapel, Miller confides in Horvath, revealing that his hands have been shaking ever since the war began. The burden of command weighs on him, and he fears that war has transformed him into someone unrecognizable to his wife back home.
The squad reaches a rallying point where they question wounded soldiers. Searching through fallen soldiers’ dog tags, they are met with quiet condemnation from passing paratroopers. Finally, a deafened soldier tells them that Ryan was reassigned to defend a critical bridge in Ramelle.
On their way, they come across a fortified German machine gun nest. Miller makes the controversial decision to neutralize it. Though they succeed, Wade is mortally wounded. The men wrestle with their grief and nearly execute a captured German soldier in retaliation. Upham insists on following the rules of war, and Miller orders the soldier—nicknamed “Steamboat Willie”—to be blindfolded and released, telling him to surrender to the next Allied patrol. Tension boils over when Reiben threatens to desert. To defuse the situation, Miller finally shares his past: he was a schoolteacher and baseball coach before the war. The revelation momentarily lightens the mood, and the squad regains its unity.
Arriving in Ramelle, they find Ryan and deliver the order for his return. But Ryan refuses to leave his post, believing he has no greater right to go home than his fellow soldiers. Horvath argues that bringing Ryan home might be the one genuinely good thing they accomplish in the war. Accepting this, Miller assumes command and helps the men prepare for an imminent German assault.
The battle erupts with relentless force. Jackson takes a sniper position but is killed by German artillery. Horvath dies holding the line. Mellish is overpowered and brutally stabbed as Upham, frozen with fear, watches helplessly. The Germans overwhelm the defenders, and Miller attempts to destroy the bridge to halt their advance. Before he can, Steamboat Willie, now among the enemy ranks, shoots him.
As Miller lies dying, U.S. reinforcements arrive, routing the Germans. Upham, no longer paralyzed by fear, confronts the surrendering German soldiers. When Steamboat Willie attempts to surrender again, Upham executes him, sending the others away. With his final breath, Miller looks at Ryan and whispers, “Earn this.”
Decades later, an elderly James Ryan stands before Miller’s grave at the Normandy Cemetery. Surrounded by his family, he reflects on the words that have haunted him his entire life. With tears in his eyes, he asks if he has lived a good life and earned the sacrifices made for him. His wife reassures him, and the film closes on an American flag fluttering in the wind, a solemn reminder of the cost of war and the lives given for others to live.
