\f1\fs24 Chad Maxey\par
Professor Cain\par
Composition 2\par
19 October 2005\par
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\pard\qc Ethical Issues in \ul Saving Private Ryan\par
\pard\ulnone\par
\pard\fi720 A sandbag bunker carrying machine guns is spotted. It has and most likely will shoot down allied forces, who are unknowingly in its vicinity. Captain Miller decides to get his men and overtake the bunker before it does anymore harm, even though this obstacle is easily avoidable. His men express that they feel this is an unnecessary risk but eventually prepare for a potentially fatal objective.\par \pard\tab
The Rangers storm through the pasture scattered with bullet-torn cattle and impact craters towards the bunker. Corporal Upham, because of his inexperience in combat, stays behind and views the climactic battle that ensues.\par \tab
Through a rifle scope, Upham watches as the group of men run, avoiding bullets raining down all around them, returning fire and exchanging grenades. As the last bullets are fired, a thick smoke screen clouds Upham\rquote s view until all is silent.\par \tab
\ldblquote Upham, grab your gear and get up here\'85..\rdblquote Captain Miller shouts in the distance. Upham runs up to the bunker where he realizes that Wade, a fellow soldier has been hit. Wade dies and the focus is now on the prisoner the Rangers have taken from the bunker.\par \tab
After the prisoner finishes digging graves for Wade and others who had been shot down previously, Captain Miller grabs him up, blindfolds him and tells him to walk a thousand paces in one direction before taking off the blindfold. Miller\rquote s men, one in particular, believes this is the wrong decision.\par \tab
The decision Captain Miller has made, raises a lot of questions presented in the movie, \ul Saving Private Ryan\ulnone , especially in this one situation. Objectively, the captain\rquote s decision seems right, but in the moment, so does killing a man who has and potentially will kill again. Though a man who has killed deserves to be punished for his actions, it is wrong to execute him without a trial.\tab\par \tab
One of the most obvious laws, laws which are fueled by ethics, recognized by countries all over the world, is the right to trial prior to any punishment that may take place. This right is part of United States Constitution as the Sixth Amendment. The right to a fair trial keeps justice civil and not in the hands of one man or group of men. This right not only protects the citizens of the United States, but transcends outside the country as well.\par \tab
International law recognizes that persons captured for any reason are due the right to trial by the country whom which they were seized. Specifically, for times of war, there are guidelines which countries must abide by. The guidelines which are the most widely applied are known as the Hague laws and Geneva Conventions. These agreements address numerous issues including the participants in war, people effected by war, and hostile forces occupying foreign land.\par \tab
The two pacts are very clear on the treatment of prisoners of war, which the German is once captured by the Allied force in \ul Saving Private Ryan\ulnone . Prisoners of war must always be treated humanely. Prisoners of war must be protected at all times, particularly against acts of violence. No physical or mental torture\'85.etc. These pacts and the ideas that compose them are on the basis of the ethical treatment of human beings.\par \tab
The dilemma Captain Miller is presented with is an understandable one but it is not one that he should act upon. As a soldier, he has a duty to follow rules, to know when to let go rather than pull the trigger. He has an obligation as a soldier to uphold the rules, rules which he is fighting for. Furthermore, he has an obligation as an officer, to serve as a model for the men under his command.\par \tab
Not only is Miller bound by responsibility but by personal morality as well. He cannot kill a man who is not an immediate danger to him or others. The execution of an unarmed man with no justifiable cause is murder. An act such as this would lead to a demoralizing effect on him as well as his men.\par \tab
At the start of \ul Saving Private Ryan\ulnone , Allied Forces invade the beaches of Normandy. They overrun the beach and soon overtake the trenches beyond the beach. In the process of occupying the trenches, two soldiers encounter Germans who are obviously surrendering. The opposing forces exchange words for about five seconds when the two allied soldiers decide to shoot and kill the two who have surrendered.\par \tab
This is an act which is utterly wrong. Five seconds of wartime is an eternity to think over the actions one is going to make. Taking an eternity to decide to end another\rquote s life for no justifiable reason is murder. Anyone who watches the movie and immerses themselves in it will understand and realize these were not the proper actions to take and, as they come to the bunker scene and experience the predicament Captain Miller is in, they will know it isn\rquote t appropriate. \par \tab
The majority of people would agree that the decision to let the German soldier go was the right one, but there are arguments which would say the decision is exceptionally flawed.\par \tab
Logically, letting an enemy soldier walk out of the capture\rquote s hands is inconceivable. In doing so, there is a risk of the soldier harming Allied Forces, either by himself, or even worse, with his regime where he can pinpoint the whereabouts of his ex-captures. Though, there is also a chance of recapture by another Allied squad. Letting the enemy soldier walk ensures the mobility and safety for the Rangers.\par \tab
Others may believe instead of letting the enemy soldier walk, with or without the company, execution is an easy option. This man is a murderer himself. He killed fellow soldiers, possibly Wade, and would have no hesitations in doing it again.\par \tab
As said above, the termination of one\rquote s life without a trial, much less a justifiable cause, is ethically wrong, but take this into consideration. War instills a simple behavior in men. They are in a defensive state. It is kill or be killed.\par \f0\fs20 \par }