The ending of 'The Phantom Menace'?

I just finished watching this film, and I noticed the remarkable parallel between the ending of 'The Green Berets' and a film produced three decades later, 'Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace'.
In this film, the young orphan discovers that his American friend won't be returning. He stares, teary-eyed, into John Wayne's face and asks, "What will happen to me now?"
In 'The Phantom Menace', a virtually identical exchange occurs between Obi-Wan Kenobi and the tearful Anakin Skywalker, as they mourn the loss of Qui-Gon Jinn.
I implore you, if you ever revisit either film, to pay attention to the aforesaid scenes. It could be nothing, but it could be an obscure homage.