During World War II, somewhere in France, Private James Ryan has lost his genitalia in battle--they're missing in action and, that day, his wife Lisa is due to receive three telegrams. An officer sends a platoon, and the platoon leader tells his men, "If that boy and his penis are alive, we're going to find them." When they do find Ryan, he's doesn't want to leave his fellow soldiers, but the platoon leader explains the mission firmly. Private Ryan relents, they shoot their way out, and there's a casualty. Jump ahead 50 years: a grey-haired man kneels at a gravestone as a young man waits beside him. Did someone die in vain, or did Ryan put it to good use?