General Marshall reads the Bixby Letter | Volume Two | Saving Private Ryan (1998)

The comment about the Sullivan brothers was about 5 brothers all serving on the a cruiser the USS Juneau. She was torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine and all 5 brothers were lost. After that the military didn’t allow siblings to serve in the same unit so it lessened the chances of an entire family getting erased. Later in the war a destroyer was named in their honor the USS “The Sullivans” DD-537. The ship survived the war and you can visit it today as a museum ship in Buffalo, NY. In keeping with the name of traditions the US navy has a current active destroyer named “The Sullivans”

To have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the alter of freedom. What a line

"The boy's alive. We are gonna send somebody to FIND him. And we are gonna get him the HELL...out of THERE." Chills. No matter how many times I hear it. Chills.

mom collapsing onto the porch is the heart of the film...made more excruciatingly poignant by the probability that she is wondering "which one...?"

Useless Film Trivia: The cast were told that he would read a letter to them - they were not told what letter it was. Their stunned reactions to that reading are completely genuine.

The opening battle overwhelms you mind and then this scene overwhelms your heart. What a masterpiece.

Best cameo appearance in a movie ever - Harvey Presnell portraying General George Marshall reading Abraham Lincoln's American Civil War letter to Mrs. Bixby is the best two minute performance on film ever.

This is the real tear jerker of the entire movie. Imagine losing three kids at one time. The mother...

George Marshall is, in my view, the greatest man America has ever produced. A genius, a diplomat, a civil rights pioneer, the architect of the reconstruction of Europe and Japan, and the commanding general of the arsenal of democracy. Cities should be renamed for him. Countries should celebrate his birthday as a national holiday. His greatness cannot be overstated.

When I first saw this, I wasn't a parent and I was like "Yeah, that's pretty sad". Now, as a parent with two young boys the scene devastates me every time I see it. Absolutely heart-wrenching scene.

To be honest, it was NEVER the reading of the letter that got to me. It was the scene immediately BEFORE it where the car pulls up to the mother's house, and she falls out of fear of losing ONE son, but we the viewers know that it is far worse than she could possibly imagine with learning about losing THREE of her sons at the same time. That was always the part that tore me apart.

I thought Harve Presnell's reading of the Bixby letter was an amazing moment in the movie. How he started reading it and then finished the letter looking off having memorized it. That whole clip was heart breaking but Gen, Marshall set the tone for the movie.

Some history: the banner at 3:14 has a star for each family member serving in the military. In the event that that person is killed, the star representing them is replaced with a GOLD one, in honor of their sacrifice & loss. There was even a support group called "The Gold Star Mothers'...!

The scene of the mother collapsing is possibly the most poignant scene. The two Niland brothers (who the movie is based on) that died on June 6th and June 7th 1944 are buried beside each other at the Colleville cemetery over Omaha Beach. The 3rd brother was believed KIA in the far east but was found alive.

I first saw this scene when I was 18. Now, with a son of my own it makes my chest tighten with an existential grief at the thought of him in a war.

Abraham Lincoln--historians have tried for 150 plus years to comprehend his uniqueness and greatness.

As I have lost a friend in combat in 2012, I can never forget his mother grief at the funeral and it haunts me every day. We must remember America's fallen!!

Who ever wrote that scene. Wrote a masterpiece. Especially when he wasn't looking at the letter. He had memorized the letter. Beautifully done.

Having lost my brother in Vietnam it takes an unmeasurable toll on the mother

Love the Bixby letter! Lincoln was a great writer and orator.