Caparzo's Letter was a letter written by Adrian Caparzo sometime during June 1944.
History
The letter was first revealed shortly after Adrian was mortally wounded by a German sniper. He was trying to tell Private Stanley Mellish to take the letter and send it to his dad knowing he was going to die of blood loss. Once the sniper was dealt with by Private Daniel Jackson, medic Wade took the blood soaked letter to write another clean copy which to give to Adrian's dad.
However, during the mission, Wade was killed by a German soldier. Captain Miller then took the letter to eventually give to Carparzo's dad when the mission was over. Unfortunately, Miller was also killed by the same soldier two days later, and so Private Richard Reiben took the letter to pass on.
Because of this, it was soon a letter that was passed down from soldier to soldier.
Symbolism
The letter acts as a motif within the film, symbolising how the soldiers honour their dead despite how many died. Each soldier taking it of their own accord (Wade to Miller to Reiben) displays their understanding of its significance since they do it without request; there is an unspoken need between the soldiers to deliver it, demonstrating their bond of brotherhood.
Wade in particular make a copy of it himself, understanding its importance to his comrade of war and fully understood that had to fulfil his dying wish. It's also a backdrop of how the soldiers do it all for one man, like how they were giving their lives to save Private Ryan.
Trivia
- The real letter never reached its destination as that was covered in blood. The one that was eventually read by Adrian's parents was a copy of it made by Wade.