Tom Hanks plays Captain John Miller, who barely survives the storming of Omaha Beach. We see these men as they face death together. Death and destruction pop up everywhere as the troops wonder why they must sacrifice their lives for one guy. Yet they fight and die anyway in these days just after D-Day. Most of the time, they are just trying to survive.
Blood flows like water.
When Ryan is finally found, he doesn't want to leave his post unattended. Political preaching stays on the shelf. His movie is more about how these GIs faced unspeakable horrors. He shows ordinary guys admirably trying to survive an apocalypse. This subtext makes Private Ryan one of the most all-American movies of recent memory.