Saving Private Ryan ending explained

What happens

At Ramelle, Miller's squad defends the bridge with Ryan, and most of them die, including Miller. Decades later, the old man at the cemetery is Ryan, who asks his wife whether he has led a good life.

The last image

The old Ryan stands before Miller's grave in the Normandy cemetery and asks his wife whether he has been a good man.

What it says

The mission's cost was never really about one man's rescue. It becomes a debt Ryan carries for life. Ending on his question, not on victory, hands that debt to you: what would it take to deserve such a sacrifice?