Right after the part when the Americans released the captured German and go walking off through the field, if you count the number of soldiers there are still 8 even though one of the soldiers just got shot an died which would make the group to a total of 7.
You are right. But its the few seconds between them leaving the glider field and reaching the radar station. You can clearly count 8 men, and it couldn't possibly be the German prisoner, as it occurs before they even attack the radar station.
When they find Ryan and try to convince him to go back with them, you hear a soldier say "We lost two men while trying to find you." Private Ryan asks what their names were. One other soldier replies "Wayde (the medic) and Caponzo." I am fairly sure that Caponzo played a minor part, and was killed off when the Germans threw a couple grenades at the Americans at the Radar station fight scene. Upham was hiding behind a dead cow and was watching through the sniper-rifle telescope during this part, you can clearly see about 2 grenades being thrown at an American with a large earth-overturning explosion as a result. Only they never cut to the scene to show that guy die. What is more mysterious is that we see the medic (Wayde) lying on the ground wounded by gunshot, but we don't see him getting shot. We do see however, a guy becoming engulfed by soil. This must be a different guy, and some viewers must be getting confused. I think I also heard Cpt. Miller give Upham the order to help dig the grave(s) along with the German. I am fairly sure there was a plural reference here (i.e. two graves to dig). This might be the extra soldier we are talking about.
Actually, Chris and Jon are right. I read in Entertainment Weekly a long time ago that they had used footage originally intended for a different scene (when it was all eight of them) and put it in the scene when they are walking. No one realized the mistake until a critic pointed it out - after the movie was already in theaters.
As for the multiple graves reference (comment by Matrix_Forensics_Laboratories), Capt. Miller was referring to graves for the three dead G.I.s they passed as they approached the radar site in addition to Wade, the medic.
Both The Dread Pirate Roberts (BTW nice name, I love that movie) and Gandolf are correct Caparzo was killed by the sniper and Capt. Miller was talking about the dead G.I.'s that tipped them off that the Germans were there in the first place.
Caparzo never made it to the radar site... Wade was shot, you just don't see it. The multiple graves are from the paratroopers shot by the machine gun (when they first walk up) and Wade.
The footage used at this point is similar to the footage used when the 8 soldiers start on their quest - they are walking through fields, and there are some sheep. The 8 of them are present then!
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