Hi folks,

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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Saving Private Ryan

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Someguy4321 — 3 years ago(June 20, 2022 08:30 AM)

Hi folks,
Did Captain Miller make the wrong decision by letting Steamboat Willie go and should he have executed him? I realise Captain Miller did the "decent thing" and showed mercy to Steamboat Willie by letting him go and Captain Miller hoped Steamboat Willie would be picked up by an Allied Patrol and taken prisoner etc but this was clearly a 50/50 chance because Steamboat Willie ended up thrown back in Wehrmacht circulation, which ultimately lead to Captain Miller's downfall.
I know it's hard to execute a surrendered enemy but given the totality of the circumstances and given how ruthless the Nazis/Wehrmacht were….I'd like to hear opinions on this pls? Should Steamboat Willie have been executed or freed?

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BlablaBlackSheep — 3 years ago(June 20, 2022 11:01 AM)

In reality they would have shot him, they did not have the capability to care for prisoners. But Spielberg could not have our valiant heroes committing a war crime.

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Dixon B. Tweenerlegs — 3 years ago(June 20, 2022 11:09 AM)

It makes you think, there must have been quite a few examples of this kinda situation happening in ww2, a lager group coming across 1 or 2 lone enemy soldiers….I wonder how many got beat / shot to death by pissed off soldiers and how many actually got the Geneva treatment.