The film flashes back to the morning of June 6, 1944, the beginning of the
Normandy Invasion, as American soldiers prepare to land on
Omaha Beach. They suffer heavily from their struggle against German infantry, machine gun nests, and artillery fire. Captain John H. Miller, a company commander of the
2nd Ranger Battalion, survives the initial landing and assembles a group of his Rangers to penetrate the German defenses, leading to a breakout from the beach.
Three days after D-Day, Miller receives orders to find Ryan and bring him back from the front. He assembles six men from his company—
T/Sgt. Mike Horvath, Private First Class Richard Reiben, Privates Stanley Mellish, Adrian Caparzo, Danny Jackson,
medic Irwin Wade—and
T/5 Timothy Upham, a
cartographer who speaks French and German, loaned from the
29th Infantry Division. Miller and his men move out to Neuville; there, they meet a squad from the
101st Airborne Division, and Caparzo dies after being shot by a sniper. Eventually, they locate a Private James Ryan, but soon learn that he is not their man. They find a member of Ryan's regiment who informs them that his
drop zone was at
Vierville and that his and Ryan's companies had the same rally point. Once they reach it, Miller meets a friend of Ryan's, who reveals that Ryan is defending a strategically important bridge over the
Merderet Riverin the town of Ramelle. On the way to Ramelle, Miller decides to neutralize a German machine gun position, despite the misgivings of his men. Wade is fatally wounded in the ensuing skirmish, but Miller, at Upham's urging, declines to execute a surviving German, nicknamed "Steamboat Willie", and sets him free on condition that he give himself up as a
prisoner of war to the first Allied unit he encounters. No longer confident in Miller's leadership, Reiben declares his intention to
desert the squad and the mission, prompting a confrontation with Horvath. The argument heats up until Miller defuses the situation by disclosing his background in civilian life, about which the squad had earlier set up a betting pool. Reiben then reluctantly decides to stay.
Upon arrival at Ramelle, Miller and the squad come upon a small group of paratroopers, one of whom is Ryan. Ryan is told of his brothers' deaths, the mission to bring him home, and that two men had been lost in the quest to find him. He is distressed at the loss of his brothers, but does not consider it fair to go home, asking Miller to tell his mother that he intends to stay "with the only brothers [he has] left." Miller decides to take command and defend the bridge with what little manpower and resources are available. Using his own men and the accompanying paratroopers, Miller forms ambush positions throughout the ruined town for the tanks and infantry utilizing molotovs, Det cord, and "sticky bombs" made from socks and TNT.
Elements of the
2nd SS Panzer Division arrive with infantry and armor. Although they inflict heavy casualties on the Germans, most of the paratroopers, along with Jackson, Mellish, and Horvath, are killed. While attempting to blow the bridge, Miller is shot and mortally wounded by a German soldier, who happens to be "Steamboat Willie". Just before a
Tiger tank reaches the bridge, an American
P-51 Mustang flies overhead and destroys the tank, followed by American armored units which rout the remaining Germans. The German infantryman who shot Miller raises his hands in surrender to Upham who, having witnessed Miller's death, shoots him and lets the other surviving Germans flee.
Reiben and Ryan are with Miller as he dies and says his last words, "James ... earn this. Earn it." The film returns to the present and it is revealed that the veteran is Ryan and the grave he is standing at is Miller's. Ryan asks his wife to confirm that he has led a good life, that he is a "good man" and thus worthy of the sacrifice of Miller and the others. His wife replies, "You are." At this point, Ryan stands at attention and delivers a salute toward Miller's grave.