How I Was Inspired Essay, Research Paper

What does V-Day, Memorial Day, or Fourth of July really mean to people today? To me it just meant another holiday or another day off from school. After watching the movie Saving Private Ryan, it made me change my thoughts and views of war. It made me realize what people went through so that the future of our country could live on.

This movie begins with what is called ?the last Great War? which is the attack on Normandy Beach on June 6,1944. As the Allied forces begin to get a foothold at Omaha, Captain John Miller is ordered to take his squad behind enemy lines on a dangerous mission to find and retrieve one man: Private James Ryan. The youngest of four brothers, Ryan is the last survivor, the other three having all been killed in action within days of one another. As the squad pushes deeper into enemy territory, Captain Miller’s men find themselves questioning their orders. Why is one man worth risking eight… why is the life of this private worth more than their own? In the end, Private Ryan is found, the Americans stopped the Germans from breaking their blockade, and Private Ryan was sent home back to his mother.

The first fifteen minutes of this movie were outstanding! It was so real and so graphic. I felt that those fifteen minutes really showed people what it was like to be in a real battle. Amidst the chaos and terror of those days in early June 1944, this remarkable story searches to find decency in the sheer madness of war. It showed fear, anger, frustation, and death.

It is so hard to put into words of how this movie really inspired me. It made me aware that war is not just a game. It explained to me that that is how people died for our country. Saving Private Ryan made me realize that people should honor holidays like D-Day, Memorial Day, and Fourth of July. Most of all this movie made me think about life itself. It taught me not to take life for granted because like most soldiers in war, your life can be over on a heartbeat.