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• In a peak of Mood Whiplash, during the climactic urban battle, Sgt. Horvan and a German mook meet and both are stymied to find they are out of ammo. What results is both of them standing in place, struggling to find something to fight with, eventually lobbing their pistols and Horvan even throwing his helmet at the man.
• Some more Mood Whiplash combined with a dose of black comedy occurs in the D-Day scene. A soldier's helmet is struck by a bullet. He takes it off, looking at it like he can't believe he wasn't hit... only to he shot in the head a moment later.
  Squadmate: Oh you lucky bastard! [BOOM!]
• Capt. Miller trying to find out where Ryan is from a guy who had a grenade hit his head.
  Random Soldier: You're gonna have to speak up sir. His hearing isn't so good. It comes and goes. A german grenade went off right by his head.
  Hard of hearing soldier: You're gonna have to speak up sir. My hearing isn't so good. It comes and goes. A german grenade went off right by my head.
• A great deal of the (authentic) soldiers' banter:
  Pvt. Caparzo: What are we gonna do?
  Sgt. Horvath: You're goin' home wrapped in an American flag with a hunk of cheese in your ass, Caparzo, you smart-ass! Now listen up...
  Pvt. Reiben: I thought you liked it in the ass?

  Pvt. Reiben: You know what that song reminds me of? It reminds me of Mrs. Rachel Troubowitz and what she said to me the day I left for basic.
  Pvt. Mellish: What, 'don't touch me'?

  Pvt. Jackson: Sir... I have an opinion on this matter.
  Cpt. Miller: Well, by all means, share it with the squad.
  Pvt. Jackson: Well, from my way of thinking, sir, this entire mission is a serious misallocation of valuable military resources.
  Cpt. Miller: Yeah. Go on.
  Pvt. Jackson: Well, it seems to me, sir, that God gave me a special gift, made me a fine instrument of warfare.
  Cpt. Miller: Reiben, pay attention. Now, this is the way to gripe. Continue, Jackson.
  Pvt. Jackson: Well, what I mean by that, sir, is... if you was to put me and this here sniper rifle anywhere up to and including one mile of Adolf Hitler with a clear line of sight, sir... pack your bags, fellas, war's over. Amen.
  Pvt. Reiben: Oh, that's brilliant, bumpkin. Hey, so, Captain, what about you? I mean, you don't gripe at all?
  Cpt. Miller: I don't gripe to *you*, Reiben. I'm a captain. There's a chain of command. Gripes go up, not down. Always up. You gripe to me, I gripe to my superior officer, so on, so on, and so on. I don't gripe to you. I don't gripe in front of you. You should know that as a Ranger.
  Pvt. Reiben: I'm sorry, sir, but uh... let's say you weren't a captain, or maybe I was a major. What would you say then?
  Cpt. Miller: Well, in that case... I'd say, "This is an excellent mission, sir, with an extremely valuable objective, sir, worthy of my best efforts, sir. Moreover... I feel heartfelt sorrow for the mother of Private James Ryan and am willing to lay down my life and the lives of my men - especially you, Reiben - to ease her suffering."
  Mellish: [chuckles] He's good.
  Pvt. Caparzo: I love him.
  [they make mocking kissy-faces at each other]
• The Running Gag of "FUBAR" and Upham's struggle to figure out what it means.
  • Mellish also tells Upham that FUBAR is German. Coincidentally, it happens to be similar in sound and meaning to the German word "Furchtbar", meaning "Terrible".
• The American troops are stumbling about a small French village looking for their CO, who might know where Ryan is. They rest for a minute in a bombed-out building, where a lieutenant accidentally knocks over a wooden beam. It hits a brick wall, collapsing it to reveal a secret room filled with German soldiers. It's only funny for about two seconds before both sides grab their rifles for a tense standoff.
• Reiben sitting on top of Ryan to ensure he doesn't move or get shot.
• Pvt. Ryan's description of his brother's lady friend: "Picture a girl who took a nosedive from the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down."
• After a bunch of German soldiers are captured and led off, Mellish repeatedly says "Juden!" or "I'm a Juden!" to them while brandishing a Star of David pendant he's wearing.
• Reiben telling the story of when he tried to sell a bra to a well-endowed lady.
• When a captured German soldier, fearing execution, tries sucking up to the Americans by talking about American pop culture, mangling the national anthem, and saying "Fuck Hitler!"