"The mission is a man."

"Like finding a needle in a stack of needles."

"This Ryan better be worth it. He better go home and cure some disease, or invent a longer-lasting light bulb, or some…"

"You see, when...when you end up killing one of your men, you tell yourself it happened so you could save the lives of…"

"[Dying words, to Private Ryan] James... earn this. Earn it."

"I don't know. Part of me thinks the kid's right. What's he done to deserve this? He wants to stay here, fine. Let's l…"

"Tell her that when you found me, I was here, and I was with the only brothers that I have left. And that there's no w…"

"[Older James Ryan at Captain Miller's grave] My family is with me today. They wanted to come with me. To be honest wi…"

"In the last great invasion of the last great war, The greatest challenge for eight men... was saving one."

"There was only one man left in the family, and the mission was to save him."