I do not rate is as a great one because of its realism. And I certainly do not rate it as high or low on the basis of accounts of men killing prisoners, didn't even enter into my calculation.
I rate it highly (as well as Saving Private Ryan) because it shows the love that men can have for each other, forged in the heat of combat, that rivals in intensity that for a spouse.
I was not there, perhaps you were and know better than I do. It is just my opinion.
I want to make it clear that I wasn't there. I was an easy going Cold Warrior all the way.
But I do have a theory on the 1861 to 1865 War. If the Confederates in their worst showings of the war at Island #10, Fort Henry, and Fort Donelson had fought half as tough as the Japanese on Iwo Jima, I would be writing this in the CSA today.