Saving Private Ryan

"Yes, for me watching this film is the main reason I decided to join the army. It’s the idea that the man is the mission. In the film their mission is to save a man who has been left behind enemy lines. For us in the military there is a mantra. They always say, What is your greatest weapon system and how can you deploy it? Well, the most effective and the most important and the most expensive weapon systems are the soldiers themselves and I don’t think that can be emphasised enough. All of the technology in the world can’t compare to the fact that we have boots on the ground. When I first saw the film, I just saw things on a superficial level. I thought I want to serve my country in the most visible, most obvious way. And for me that’s when you’re willing to give your life for missions, for a country and for an agenda that’s beyond yourself. Those things really resonated with me back in high school. Well, let me just say upfront – any soldier that has served in Iraq should be forgiven if they say that they hate the war ! I don’t know of any soldiers who have gone through their entire deployment who have said, Oh, I just love this war. Going through some of those very traumatic experiences, which most people will never experience in their entire lives – it makes you question a lot of the mission. But one thing’s for sure, you know the people going through it with you, they are always there for you, even if they don’t physically say it."