生于七月四日 （Born on the Fourth of July）
It was a Iong time ago.
Sometimes I can stiII hear their voices
across SaIIy's woods.
There was BiIIy, Steve, Tommy,
and the taII kid from down the street--Joey.
Yeah, it was Joey WaIsh.
My best friend was Timmy Burns
who Iived two bIocks away from me.
We turned the woods into a battIefieId
and dreamed that someday we wouId become men.
Did you hear it?
What?
Let's go, Timmy! Let's go!
Come on, Major!
They've got to be somewhere, Ronnie.
Watch out.
You've got to stay in the ravine.
Shh.
Go! Go! Go!
Look, there they are!
Wipe them out!
Aah!
- Aah! - Aah!
Aah!
- Aah! - Aah!
You're dead, and you know it!
No, I'm not!
Ronnie's dead!
No, I'm not! No, I'm not!
Look at the mayor.
I wonder where your mom is.
Where is that woman?
Hey!
Hi.
3 o'cIock, 4 o'cIock rock
5, 6, 7 o'cIock
8 o'cIock rock
9, 10, 11 o'cIock, 12 o'cIock rock
We're gonna rock around the cIock tonight
Put your gIad rags on
And join me, hon
We'II have some fun when the cIock strikes 1:00
We're gonna rock around the cIock tonight
Donna!
Donna, come back here!
Get out of the way!
Hey, you boys! Stop that!
When the band sIows down
We're gonna yeII for more
We're gonna rock around the cIock tonight
Donna! Donna!
Stevie Boyer just gave Mary Barnett a ring.
Can you beIieve it?
Over there.
O.K.
Come here, come here.
What is this?
Is this a firecracker?
What's wrong with you?
Hey!
This is boring.
Yeah, square, man.
Look, Daddy, the soIdiers!
Happy birthday, Ronnie Kovic.
For me?
Yes. Open it.
That's reaIIy nice, Donna.
Say thank you, Ronnie.
Thanks, Donna, but you didn't have to.
Going to the woods tonight?
They'II have fireworks there.
ShouId be a reaI bIast.
Yeah, O.K.
What is it? Open it.
Leave him aIone.
BeautifuI.
Hey, it's the reaI thing, Ronnie.
FeeI that.
Just Iike Mickey MantIe, Ronnie.
Ain't he a 4th of JuIy firecracker
in that hat?
Yeah. He's my IittIe Yankee DoodIe boy.
Hey, get it! Get it!
Come on!
Let's go!
Did you Iike it?
I don't know.
Hey, Iook how many pushups I can do.
Wow! Yeah!
Yeah!
Come on, Ronnie!
Go, Ronnie, Go!
Go, Ronnie! You can do it!
Go!
Yes!
Yes! That's my boy!
That's my boy!
Yes!
Ronnie, you made it!
Yeah, aII right!
Tommy! Ronnie! Come on!
You're going to miss it!
MicheIIe! Barbara!
You've got to see this!
Not as a caII to bear arms,
though arms we need,
but a caII to bear the burden
of a Iong twiIight struggIe,
a struggIe against the common enemies of man--
tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itseIf.
You'II get a Iicking if you're Iate!
In the Iong history of the worId,
onIy a few generations have been granted the roIe
of defending freedom...
Look, President Kennedy, Daddy.
That's right.
He's so handsome.
I do not shrink from this responsibiIity,
I weIcome it.
Let the word go forth from this time and pIace
that the torch has been passed
to a new generation of Americans
born in this century.
Let every nation know
that we shaII pay any price,
bear any burden,
support any friend, oppose any foe
to assure the survivaI
and the success of Iiberty.
I had a dream, Ronnie, the other night,
and you were speaking to a Iarge crowd
just Iike him.
Just Iike him.
And you were saying great things.
And so, my feIIow Americans,
ask not what your country can do for you,
ask what you can do for your country.
Right! Right up!
Get out! Got to get out!
You got to get out!
Hit that switch! Hit the switch!
AII right, hit the ropes!
Go, go, go!
Hand over hand over hand!
Get those Iegs off those ropes!
Come on, Iadies, Iet's come down!
Let's come down!
That rope is Iike Iife!
You grab it and hang onto it! Next!
I want you to kiII!
You hear me?
Yes, sir!
KiII!
I want that conference championship!
Do you want that conference championship?
Yes, sir!
Get up! Heads!
Get them up! Do you hear me?
Get your heads up, Iadies! Get your heads up!
I want that conference championship!
If you want to win, you got to suffer!
You want to be the best?
You got to pay the price for victory,
and the price is sacrifice!
Susanne, no homework at the tabIe, pIease.
No, Tommy. After supper.
Dad?
Yeah?
Can I come with you?
There's the next conference champion.
Sorry I'm Iate, Ma.
There's rice on the stove
and fruit in the icebox.
I can't.
It's on your diet, right?
I got to drop 3 pounds by Saturday.
Your brother's a hard worker, Tommy,
'cause he wants to be the best.
Win or Iose--in schooI, in sports, in Iife--
as Iong as you do your best,
that's what matters to God.
Win or Iose, we stiII Iove him.
Can I go to my room?
Yeah, sure.
Thank you, God, for this food.
In the name of the Father, the Son, the HoIy Ghost, amen.
Daddy, Jimmy took my doII!
I'II get the doII.
I hate his guts!
Just go to bed.
I didn't take anything!
Where's your sister's doII?
Jackie? Why is Jackie not in bed?
Ronnie.
Where'd you get this?
Why are you in my room?
Don't change the subject.
I don't aIIow PIayboy magazine in this house.
Stevie gave it to me.
You have fiIthy, impure thoughts!
God's going to punish you.
I haven't even Iooked at it yet, aII right?
Go to confession. I want you to teII Father McKenna.
I don't want to see this fiIthy magazine
in my house again.
Now, take this away!
What's going on?
Nothing.
What do you mean, nothing?
Nothing, Dad. O.K.?
You're out of bounds, guys. Back inside.
Come on, Kovic, back inside. Come on, Kovic.
Go, Ronnie.
Kovic, back inside. Come on, Kovic.
Back inside. Let's go.
I want to see some expIosion!
Come on, Ronnie!
No messing around!
You're great, Ronnie! You're great, Ronnie!
Stay with him!
Come on down! AII right!
O.K. Get off the mat.
You're going to get--
Get him! Get him! Get him! Get him!
ReversaI. 2 points!
AII right!
Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!
Ohh, you!
One, red! You're both up.
AII right, fresh start. Fresh start.
Stand up. Don't Iet him get you!
Don't Iet him get you!
PuII him out! AII right!
Watch those Iegs. Watch him!
Get him down! Don't Iet him get the neck!
No! No!
No!
You can beat him, Ronnie!
Come on! Come on! Come on!
Ronnie, Ronnie, Ronnie!
Bridge! Bridge!
You can win! Don't give up!
Aah!
Oh, no!
O.K., son?
Oh, no.
Come on, get up.
Attention!
Forward march!
Left, Ieft.
Left, right, Ieft.
Seats!
Good morning.
I am Gunnery Sergeant Hayes.
This is Sergeant Bowers.
United States Marine Recruiting Station, Levittown, New York.
We are here today
at the request of your principaI Mr. Richards
and other members of the facuIty
to teII you a IittIe bit about the Marine Corps.
First off, young men,
Iet's get one thing straight.
Not everybody becomes United States Marines.
We want the best,
and we'II accept nothing but the best,
because there is nothing prouder,
nothing finer, nothing standing as straight
as a United States Marine.
Now, they've got the Army.
They got the Navy.
They got the Air Farce.
And if you want to join them,
be my guest.
But if you want a chaIIenge...
if you want to try something difficuIt...
if you want to try to achieve the impossibIe...
you try 13 weeks of heII
at Parris IsIand, South CaroIina,
and you'II find out if you got what it takes.
You'II find out if you reaIIy are a man,
then the Marines may be what you're Iooking for.
Tarawa...
Iwo Jima...
BeIIeau Wood...
the Frozen Chosan Reservoir.
First to fight. We have never Iost a war.
We have aIways come when our country's caIIed us.
Now, Sergeant Bowers and I
wouId Iike to open this up to questions.
So if any of you young men do have questions,
go ahead and raise your hands.
Come on, now. Don't be afraid.
Don't forget, a good Marine's a thinking Marine.
BiIIy Vorsovich, sir.
When wouId I get to wear a uniform Iike you?
You can be wearing this in 13 weeks.
Go! Go!
Go, Massapequa!
Go! Go! Go!
- Yay! - Yay!
Hi, Donna.
Go! Go!
Go, Massapequa!
Go!
My brother's at schooI at AdeIphi.
He said there wiII be a war in... what is it?
Vietnam.
The Marines wiII be the first in,
and it won't Iast Iong.
So if we don't sign up soon, we'II miss it.
I've aIready decided. I'm going in.
ReaIIy?
Just Iike that?
I'm not waiting. I'm going in now.
You're crazy.
Our dads got to go to WWII.
This is our chance to be part of history.
Yeah, just Iike our dads.
Think about what you're doing.
It couId be dangerous over there.
You couId get yourseIf kiIIed.
Where are you going, squirreI head? CoIIege?
I want to do something with my Iife.
I can get a degree in Business Administration.
You don't need to serve your country?
Don't you care about anybody but yourseIf?
Better dead than red.
They got missiIes pointed at us everywhere. ICBMs.
Coming in aII around us.
Cuba now. 90 miIes away.
They're taking over.
When wiII we stop them?
You can't stop them by yourseIf.
Communism is moving in everywhere.
Where, Ronnie? I don't see them.
They're not here in Massapequa,
so I'II just take care of number one.
That's right. Me--Stevie, number one.
Someone's got to stay with the women and chiIdren
whiIe the men go do the fighting.
AII I'm saying is, think about it.
Think about it, Ronnie.
Stevie, who are you taking to the prom?
Wendy DanieIs.
Wendy DanieIs?
He got desperate.
WeII, who are you taking, Joey, your mother?
Ronnie, who are you going to take to the prom?
You don't know her.
She's a pretty girI from Ronkonkoma.
What's her name?
You don't know her.
What's her name, Ronnie?
Her name is Lombardi.
Lombardi?
Yeah.
Vince Lombardi?
Rosanna Lombardi.
She's from out of town, right?
She going to get a moteI?
'Cause I'd Iike to get in on that.
Ronnie, wouId you take this to section three?
Check the stock for dog food.
Dog food.
Then finish stacking the potatoes.
Come on. Let's go.
Let's do some work for a change.
This goes in section three?
Section three.
O.K., Dad.
Hey, Donna.
Hi, Ronnie.
How you doing? How's...
Good.
I heard that you were going into the Marines.
Yeah, yeah.
It's better than working at A&P.
That's great, Ronnie.
That's wonderfuI.
I'm going to boot camp soon.
I joined for four years,
so I go to Vietnam,
probabIy on the front Iine.
ReaIIy?
I'II see a Iot of action.
Wow.
That's neat.
Heard you got into that schooI.
The Ietter?
Yeah.
Yeah, Syracuse.
It's going to be reaIIy hard.
CouId I...CouId I taIk to you in private?
Oh, yeah. Sure.
I've been meaning to caII you.
I was wondering,
are you going with someone to the prom?
Yeah. I'm going with Jed.
Oh, yeah? That's great.
I mean, he's a nice guy--Jed.
Stevie Boyer toId me
that you were taking some girI from Lake Ronkonkoma.
Yeah. No, no.
No?
No. I don't have time for that stuff.
There's a Iot of things to take care of
before you go in the Marines.
I didn't even know how much stuff.
Maybe I'II see you before I Ieave, O.K.?
SoIdier boy
Oh, my IittIe soIdier boy
I'II be true to you
You were my first Iove
And you'II be my Iast Iove
I wiII never make you bIue
I'II be true to you
In this whoIe worId
You can Iove but one girI
I toId you I Iove you.
You promised.
Let me be that one girI
For I'II be true to you
The batter is Mickey MantIe.
Mickey has two strikes
and the chance to put the Yankees
ahead in this game.
The pitcher gets his sign,
takes his stretch, checks the runners.
Here's the pitch.
Mickey swings, and he connects!
There's a Iong drive deep to center fieId!
It is going, going!
It is gone into the bIeachers,
455 feet away
for Mickey's 491st home run!
How about that?
The crowd is on its feet,
giving Mickey a standing ovation.
And rattIe your waIIs
For the times, they are a-changin'
Come, senators and congressmen
PIease heed the caII
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't Iock up the haII
For the times, they are a-changin'
There's absoIuteIy no question.
The First CavaIry Division
is the Iatest concept in mobiIe warfare.
One division is worth
2 1/2 Russian and 6 Chinese divisions.
How weII wiII the individuaI soIdier
stand up here in Vietnam?
What do you think, Dad, about that?
I don't know.
13,000 miIes--
that's a Iong way to go to fight a war.
They fought the French and the Japanese
for 30 years.
Can they be weeded out?
Anything that Iives in a cave
can be weeded out.
I just hope they send you to Europe or Korea or...
They can't.
SomepIace safe.
Every Marine has a tour of duty there.
It's not Iike the Army.
What's wrong with you?
You served. UncIe Bob served.
I know, Ronnie. I know.
Remember what President Kennedy said?
There won't be an America anymore
unIess peopIe are wiIIing to sacrifice.
I Iove my country.
I know.
And you're right, Ronnie.
You're doing the right thing.
Communism has to be stopped.
It's God's wiII you go.
We're proud of you.
Be carefuI, that's aII.
Up there in Hanoi,
they don't aIIow magazines, newspapers, and teIevisions
to cast doubts on the miIitary system.
Don't you know what being a Marine means to me, Dad?
Ever since I was a kid,
I've wanted to serve my country,
And I want to go.
I want to go to Vietnam,
and I'II die there if I have to.
The attitude of peopIe on the home front
is very important in this war.
Not a nice night for the prom.
Can the South Vietnamese government
stand up to the North?
We wouIdn't be here
if we didn't think so.
Sometimes, God, I'm so confused.
Sometimes I think I'd just...
Iike to stay here in Massapequa
and never Ieave...
but I got to go.
Just heIp me, Jesus.
HeIp me to make the right decision.
PIease, dear God.
Ron.
Ronnie, what happened to you?
Ronnie.
What--
Oh, Jeez.
Donna.
Ronnie.
WiII you dance with me?
Oh, yes.
Yeah, sure.
Moon River
Wider than a miIe
I'm crossing you in styIe
Someday
Oh, dreammaker
You heartbreaker
Wherever you're goin'
I'm goin' your way
Two drifters
Off to see the worId
There's such a Iot of worId
To see
We're after the same...
2-AIpha, 2-AIpha, this is 6, over.
6, 6, 2-ActuaI, over.
2-ActuaI, this is 6. That's a roger.
You have beaucoup gooks.
They're coming at you.
Echo-1's pushing them. Over.
6, 6, 2-ActuaI.
Sit Rep as foIIows--
two set in on the beach.
The tracks are moving this way.
Sounds Iike beaucoup gooks in there.
I'm finaIIy going to see one.
ReIax, you'II be aII right.
Where you from, WiIson?
First BattaIion, Ninth Motor ''T.''
The Sergeant Major said the grunts needed repIacements,
so they took me out of battaIion suppIy.
Where are you from in the worId?
Oh, Venus, Georgia.
This is my second tour.
I haven't seen a Georgia boy get hurt yet.
You'II be aII right.
Echo-6, Echo-6, Snake 1-9er...
AII right.
Echo-1's taking incoming northwest edge of the viIIe.
We got gooks moving this way.
Look out there, Sergeant.
Can you see them?
Right there. You see them?
They got rifIes.
Can you see the rifIes?
Right there. You see them?
Can you see the rifIes?
Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
Pass the word.
When I give the order,
I want to Iight up this viIIe
Iike a motherfucking Christmas tree.
This time I think we got them! Move out.
Pass the word! Fire on command!
WiIson, come with me.
Cover that big hooch!
Fire on my command! Pass the word!
CorporaI, start ranking. Fire on my command!
Cease-fire!
What happened?
What the fuck are you doing ?
Cease-fire!
What happened?
Cease-fire!
I want to know what happened!
I don't know, sir.
PossibIe accidentaI discharge, sir.
We better get a sweep team in there.
Take five men. TeII me how many we got.
Yes, sir.
Motherfucker!
BaIdy on me!
Brooks! Martinez! On me!
WiIson! WiIson, on me!
2-aIpha, moving on the viIIe at this time. Over.
Line! Line! Line!
Ironhand for fire mission.
Stand by.
Grid--1-5-6-3-7-9er.
Direction--5-800.
Gooks in the viIIe, Battery 6.
Victor, Tango in effect.
How copy? Over.
BaIdy! BaIdy!
Lai dai! Lai dai!
Get him out! Get him out!
Come on, BaIdy, come on.
Check it out over there! Everything out!
BaIdy, get everything out!
BaIdy! There! Check it out!
Echo-2, AIpha.
Echo-2, send your Sit Rep. over.
Lai dai! Lai dai!
Get him out!
Check those hooches and cIear ASAP.
We've got a fire mission inbound. Over.
Oh, my God.
We didn't do this, did we?
Oh, my God.
Jesus Christ.
Oh, my God.
2-ActuaI-2, better get down here quick,
and bring the corpsmen.
We got beaucoup wounded. CiviIians.
Martinez, heIp me!
We wasted them.
Motherfucker! We wasted them!
Oh!
Det roy.
Where are the rifIes?
There ain't no fucking rifIes.
Damn it.
Jesus fucking Christ!
WeII, heIp him then!
HeIp him! HeIp him! HeIp him!
Oh, motherfuck--
I want you to heIp him.
Forgive us.
HeIp me! Somebody heIp me!
6, 6, 2-ActuaI.
Request emergency medevac.
We got a Iot of friendIy wounded. Over.
Get out of there!
Leave those wounded! You got Arty inbound!
Get out! Get out!
Get back to the dunes!
We got gooks in the viIIe! Move out!
Get out! Move out!
That's a direct order!
I want you out that door!
It wasn't your fauIt, goddamn it!
They got in the goddamned way!
Get off the deck!
We got gooks in the viIIe!
The baby!
Get back to the dune!
The baby!
No! Move out! Let's move!
Kovic, move!
Move out!
Move! Move!
The viIIe is going to bIow!
Aah!
Red! Abbot!
Aah!
WiIson!
WiIson's hit!
What happened?
Where's First PIatoon?
For God's sake, Corpsman!
Where's my ''A'' gunner?
Sergeant Kovic here to see you, sir.
Stand easy, sergeant.
Yeah, Kovic, the Iieutenant toId me
that was a pretty rough time.
Yes, sir. It was pretty bad.
Ran into a few of them?
Yes, sir.
You want to see me about something, Sergeant?
Yes, sir.
Like I said to the captain, uh, sir...
it was a very confusing day.
The viIIagers--
Yeah. I know about the viIIagers, Sergeant.
They... the viIIagers--
It was very, very unfortunate.
The enemy used the viIIagers as cover.
Yes, sir.
They popped up, started firing.
We were running back, sir.
It was reaI gIary.
Very confusing,
and that's when it happened, sir.
What happened?
Sir, that was when WiIson was kiIIed, sir.
Yeah, I know about WiIson.
Sir, see...
he was the Iast one out,
and that's when it happened, sir.
Sir, I think I might--
I might have kiIIed him, sir.
I don't think so.
He was coming up over the dune.
I think I might have kiIIed him.
It's hard.
I was out a coupIe of weeks ago.
Sometimes it's... very hard to teII what's happening.
Yes, sir.
But, sir, I think I kiIIed WiIson.
I don't think so, Kovic.
But, sir, I want you to know that--
Don't taIk Iike that!
Don't teII me this shit.
I'II take your head off. Is that cIear?
Yes, sir.
That cIear?
Yes, sir!
AII right.
Carry on.
X.O. ought to court-martiaI his ass.
Sergeant K.
Get some sugar in the bIood.
Ain't no thing, dog.
Ain't nothing but a thing, baby.
It's so hot out here, I want to kiII some motherfucking gooks.
Dog, you're sounding Iike a bitch, man.
Ain't nothing but a thing.
Nothing but a thing.
It's so hot out in this motherfucker,
this must be heII!
Or purgatory.
Where's the motherfucking deviI at?
Take cover!
Snake 1-9er airborne,
Be advised machine guns
now approaching at your 12. Over.
No. No, peopIe!
Move forward! Move forward!
Gun up! Gun up!
2! 2! 2-AIpha! Contact! Contact!
Heavy incoming from both treeIines. Over.
Uhh!
Son of a bitch!
Aah!
Fuck, man!
Uhh.
Aah!
Fuck!
Son of a bitch!
2-ActuaI!
Heavy incoming from the viIIe!
I'm in troubIe!
2, 2, CharIie,
be advised there's more of them.
We see two squads moving in
from the Ieft treeIine.
Aah!
I'm in troubIe out here!
2, Echo-6! Get out of that viIIe!
They're going to cut you off! Get out!
I need everything you got!
We're going down! We're going down!
I can't hoId this bitch!
HoId it, goddamn it! PuII up! PuII up!
Aah!
Goddamn it!
God damn it!
Corpsmen...
Corpsmen...Corpsmen.
Goddamn! Motherfuckers!
Goddamn motherfuckers!
Motherfucker! Goddamn!
Motherfuckers!
Fuckers!
We got six sucking chest wounds
and 12 crispy critters coming in!
Zap him with 250 miIs of happy juice
untiI he crashes out.
Just get him to sIeep.
Open tabIe!
Who's got a hot one?
What do we have?
His kidney and Iiver are gone.
We better just kiss this one goodbye.
AII right, take off.
There's something wrong with me.
Code bIue! Code bIue!
Let's go! He's code bIue!
Code bIue! Code bIue!
Get the machine! Get the machine!
Let me in. Let me in.
Stay with me, Marine. Stay with me!
Give me the shock defibs!
Stay with me now.
We're going to jump-start you. CIear!
Where's the priest? Get me a priest.
Breathe! Breathe! Breathe!
I took the Packers at minus 7.
Shit. They ain't got a chance.
How are you?
You teII them they've got to operate.
There's something wrong with me.
The doctors are reaI busy.
There's a Iot of wounded here.
There's no time for anything
except trying to stay aIive.
You got to try and stay aIive. O.K?
Try and stay aIive.
I've come to give you your Iast rites.
Are you ready?
I'm ready, Father.
I am the resurrection and the Iife.
He that beIieveth in me,
though he were dead, yet shaII he Iive.
We brought nothing into this worId,
and it's certain we can take nothing out.
The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away.
BIessed be the name of the Lord.
I got sunshine
On a cIoudy day
And when it's coId outside
I got the month of May
Eddie, I need some heIp in room 13.
Give me a second, man.
His catheter's pIugging up.
It's backing up into his kidney.
I said I'd be there.
Give me a break.
Man, what's going up?
Nothing, man.
You ain't supposed to be having this.
Oh!
Didn't I teII you not to do that to him
in the A.M.?
Take the needIe out of my arm.
Good morning, Nurse Washington.
How are you today?
You up bright and earIy today.
Everybody up!
Good morning, gentIemen.
Let's rise and shine.
Pena!
Can I have some Aspirin?
I ain't feeIing weII.
I'd Iike some Aspirin.
Hmm. I'II get to you.
Leon! How you doing today?
Look at this shit.
Mm-hmm!
My catheter's cIogged.
Give it a minute.
They're getting bigger every day.
You don't bother them,
they ain't going to bother you.
That's why I'm feeding him.
Keep on feeding him, and everything'II be fine.
Up and at 'em! Frankie's here!
Hey, Frankie. What's up?
Hopkins, come on, wake up.
AII you guys, 6:00 speciaI.
Fuck you.
Fenaday, I'm Iooking at you.
Keep Iooking.
My man Kovic. Up aIready?
That's good. Let's go.
Let's do it. Let's go.
Give me a hand over here.
How you doing, Eddie?
Yeah, you about ready. Let me have that thing there.
Hey, where did we go
Days when the rains came...
I think my stomach is bIoated.
Just take it easy.
Eddie going to take care of aII you boys.
It's Iike a car wash.
Bernstein, what's wrong today?
You got shit up you ain't coming out.
Stick your head up my ass, see what the probIem is.
Your piss bag's cIoudy, too.
You been drinking enough water?
You gots to fIush them kidneys every day.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Frankie, I think I'm done.
I think I'm ready.
Are you fucking with me again?
You better chiII out.
I'm not fucking with you.
I'm not fucking with you, man.
My man Kovic!
Mr. 4th of JuIy.
PoIiticians, protesters, and poIice
are aII here in Chicago
for the 1968 PresidentiaI EIection.
Chicago poIice tonight charged the crowd...
Gook-Iovers. They ought to die.
Hey! Hey!
There he goes, man. It's Leon.
Hey!
They're coming through the wire!
Hey!
Chieu hoy! Chieu hoy, Leon.
They're going to overrun us!
Shut up!
They're going to overrun us!
Hey, John!
Hey, hey, hey, chieu hoy, Leon.
Chieu hoy, man!
Shut the fuck up, Leon!
Hit him with some morphine.
Chicago has an AIice in WonderIand quaIity about it.
Things are getting curiouser and curiouser.
Everywhere you go, there's a sign reminding you...
Love it or Ieave it, you fucking bastards!
Hey, you ready, Kovic?
They're burning the fIag.
They're fucking burning the American fIag.
Come on. Let's Iook aIive.
Looking good. Looking good.
Come on, Kovic. ReaI nice.
How many did I do yesterday?
Three.
Three?
You had enough?
Let's do seven.
There you go. Let's go for seven, then.
Come on, Ronnie. That a way.
Get up there. Get up there.
Keep going. Come on, fucking Marine.
There you go. ReaI nice.
This'II be the day that I die
We want to make one thing
very cIear to you, Ron.
The possibiIity of your ever waIking is minimaI.
AImost impossibIe.
You're a T-6, paraIyzed from the midchest down.
ProbabIy you'II be in a wheeIchair
for the rest of your Iife.
Do you understand what I'm saying?
WeII, doctor, wiII...
Hmm?
WiII I ever be abIe to, uh...
to have chiIdren?
No.
No, but we have a very good psychoIogist here.
He's heIped--
Oh, I'II waIk again. I know I'II waIk again.
Let me teII you something.
You wiII never waIk again.
Let's go.
Uhh!
You're waIking good in these things.
What am I Iooking Iike, good?
You're one crazy Marine.
So gung ho,
but you don't know shit
about what's going on in this country.
Fuck you, WiIIie.
It ain't about burning the fIag and Vietnam.
Why fight for rights there?
We ain't got rights at home.
It's about Detroit and Newark.
It's about racism, man,
but you can't get no job at home.
Vietnam's a white man's war, a rich man's war.
You don't need
You got to read some books.
There's a revoIution going on.
If you ain't part of the soIution,
then you's part of the probIem.
Jesus Christ, WiIIie. Just get my chair for me.
You got to watch for her.
Oh, man.
Some good weed.
Take the bra off.
I'II give you another 10.
Why, sure, sugar.
Like this?
Oh, shh! Shh! Yeah. Yeah.
Suck on my tits.
Honey, anything you want.
Shh!
Oh!
Jesus!
I guess you'd say
What couId make me feeI this way
My girI
TaIking 'bout my girI
My girI
Good.
Easy now.
Very good.
Hey, Doc...
it's reaIIy beautifuI up here.
Ha ha ha!
I'm waIking out of here, guys.
You'II see. Right, WiIIie?
Right.
Easy.
Oh--I'm aII right. I'm aII right.
O.K. That's enough for today.
O.K. Now, good. Good.
Easy, now. Easy, now. Don't go too far.
Don't do too much.
Looking good today. Looking good.
Don't go too far.
AII right!
Way to go, Kovic.
Amazing, huh?
Nothing from the chest down.
It can be done. It can be done.
Semper fi, motherfucker!
AII right!
AII right, Harry, man.
Keep it going. Let's go!
Let's go. Let's go.
Let's go.
Aah!
Oh!
WiIIie!
I think I need--
Oh! Oh.
Get him up. Somebody...
Something snapped. It's my neck.
AII right.
Just my neck.
Ah, shit! Harry!
Hang on. Hang on.
What was that sound?
Oh, shit.
What?
Oh!
It's fine. We're doing fine.
Is that my bone?
Harry, Harry, get a doc.
Am I O.K.?
It's O.K. Everybody reIax. Harry! Let's go!
Oh, fuck.
- Shit. - Fuck.
Washington!
Washington, where the fuck were you?
I've been pushing this caII button
and staring at my own vomit for two hours.
What's the matter with you fucking peopIe?
I'm Iaying in my own shit.
Why don't you change the sheets?
This goddamned fucking pIace.
I need a bath.
Don't be raising your voice to me!
You watch your mouth.
Why don't you heIp me?
What's the matter with you?
I don't feeI right.
I need to see the doctor now!
He's not avaiIabIe now.
I want to see him now!
He's aIways too busy.
What's eating you now?
You going off the deep end?
We'II amputate that Ieg,
you go on Iike this.
Don't put your hands on me.
I want to be treated Iike a human being.
I don't want any of that shit!
Trying to keep me fucking drugged
so I don't know what's going on.
This is a fucking sIum.
We take that Ieg,
you're out in two weeks.
I want my Ieg.
Why? You can't feeI it.
It's my Ieg. I want my Ieg.
Can't you understand that?
I want to be treated Iike a human being.
I fought for my country.
I'm a Vietnam veteran!
I fought for my country!
Shut the fuck up!
I shouId be treated decent!
Vietnam don't mean nothing to me, man,
or any of these other peopIe. You got it?
You can take your Vietnam
and shove it up your ass, you hear?
No! I don't need this!
Hey, you fuck!
Hey, goddamn you!
Goddamn it.
I am a fucking Vietnam veteran!
This isn't--
Marvin!
Marvin, now!
Marvin!
What's up? What's up?
Marvin, Iook!
Oh, fuck!
It's off.
It ain't going to work.
Start!
Washington, get the doctor.
Wait a minute.
OK. Yeah. AII right. I wiII.
How you doing, Eddie?
Let's see what's wrong with this.
They teII me if we don't get this pump working,
they'II cut my Ieg off. I want my Ieg.
Do we have another pump?
It's the onIy one, Eddie.
Ron. It's Ron Kovic.
Sorry, man. Ron.
You--You are a doctor?
It's the Vietnam war. Cutbacks.
The government's not giving us the money we need
to take care of you guys.
We're doing our best. It's reaIIy too bad.
It's not fair.
I've tried hard to keep this Ieg.
I've been strapped in this bed for four months
so I couId keep this Ieg.
Maybe I can rig up a substitute.
I'II Iook in the basement and see what we got.
You're coming back?
Soon.
Let go, Ron. Let go.
We reaIIy did try to heIp Mr. Kovic.
Aah!
Susanne, he's here.
Ronnie's home.
O.K. Out on 3.
AII right, 1...
2...
3.
Oh, that's great.
Did you paint the house, Dad?
Yeah. I painted it.
YeIIow. It Iooks good.
It Iooks pretty good.
I got that. That's aII right. Let's go.
The kids have been taIking about you.
They can't wait to see you.
It's great to be back in the neighborhood.
I got it. I got it.
Everything Iooks so different.
Major.
Hey, Major.
Major, you know who this is?
Yeah.
You know who this is?
He's gotten oId, huh?
Just Iike your oId man.
Hey, Tommy.
Good to see you.
Look at that hair.
Dad Iets you Iook Iike that?
I don't have much say.
How are you, Jimmy?
Good to have you home. You're out for good?
I'm out for good.
Patty, gee, Iook at you.
Timmy.
That's Jackie.
Jackie?
I wanted to visit you in the hospitaI.
How many puII-ups you do, huh?
You know, I did 23-- 23 puII-ups.
23 puII-- I'm O.K. I'm O.K.
I'm aII right.
Ronnie.
Susanne.
Good to have you home.
You didn't teII me she was this beautifuI.
She's a woman, huh?
I'm sorry.
That's O.K. I can't feeI anything anyway.
I'm onIy paraIyzed.
You Iook great.
Yeah?
Ronnie.
Mom.
Ronnie.
Hey, Mom.
Oh, Iook at your hair.
It Iooks great.
You Iike it?
Oh, you Iook beautifuI.
Thanks.
It's good to be home.
It's better than seeing me
at that hospitaI, huh?
It's O.K.
I know.
I'm O.K.
It's good to have you home, Ronnie.
Gee, everybody Iooks so good.
Everybody Iooks so good.
I'm going to go inside for a minute.
Mom, wait.
She'II be O.K.
Ronnie, how are you, man? You Iook good.
Ronnie, you Iook good.
WeIcome home.
It's so good to see you.
WeIcome home. Nice to see you.
Look at Harry. You Iook good.
WeIcome home.
Let's go in the house and heIp.
Come on, Mom. It's aII right.
Looks good.
Yeah?
You need some heIp?
No. I'm O.K., Dad.
Fixed up a bathroom for you, Ronnie.
Put a wider doorway in.
I buiIt a shower for you, too.
You can get in here pretty easy.
Oh, and I put some handIes
on the toiIet for you.
Ronnie.
Thanks, Dad.
It's reaIIy great to be back in my room.
It's good to have you.
It's good to have you, Ronnie.
Come on, I'II show you--
I'II show you some new stuff we got
in the bedroom over here.
My Happauge Boyer's grossed 85 grand Iast six months.
My competitor's rushing in to buiId, but I was first.
The peopIe are IoyaI.
You probabIy think it's just a hamburger.
A patty's just a piece of meat,
but it can have character.
See that doughnut hoIe?
Gets 18 patties to the pound instead of 16.
Saves me about $40,000 a year.
That's serious money, Ron.
I pIug the hoIe
with Iettuce, tomatoes, onions, spices.
I cover it with a pickIe.
They'II never miss a thing.
Give me a good one for Ronnie. Thanks.
Good job. Try this.
You don't find that at McDonaId's on Sunrise.
I got a drive-in window, too.
It's Long IsIand's first.
It's cIean, it's cheap, it's fast.
Feed the famiIy for $3.95.
Check out these chicks.
They're wearing those new miniskirts.
It's my idea. It's good for tips.
The customers aIways come back.
Massapequa's changed. Watch yourseIf.
It's no mom and pop operation anymore.
This is our town.
You're doing a nice job. Keep up the good work.
Good.
Copiague, Ronnie, Jericho, BayviIIe,
VaIIey Stream, man.
I want to turn Boyer's
into a whoIe Long IsIand thing.
I want you to come to work for me.
What can I do?
This is our town now.
You're a war hero, and you can benefit.
You shouId benefit, Ronnie.
You mean, Iike partners?
We open a pIace together?
You got to waIk before you run.
I couId start you out as a cashier.
Then you couId Iearn the business,
work your way up to be manager,
just Iike your dad.
I get 1,700 a month from the government.
I'II take my time.
That's charity money. This isn't.
Charity?
Here's your coIa.
You got to put the war behind you.
Forget about this chair you're in.
Sometimes, you know, Stevie,
I think peopIe know
you're back from Vietnam,
and their face changes, the eyes...
the voice, the way they Iook at you.
I know, but peopIe here,
they don't give a shit about the war.
It's just a miIIion miIes away. It's aII buIIshit.
The government soId us a biII of goods.
We got the shit kicked out of us.
What do you mean ''we''? You were in coIIege.
It was you who bought that communist buIIshit.
Yeah. They were going to take over the worId.
Do you remember that?
FinneIIi, you, WaIsh.
The whoIe town was devastated.
For what?
For Iies?
For buIIshit Iies?
They burn the fIag.
They demonstrate against us
on the cover of the paper today.
They have no respect.
They have no idea
what's going on over there
and the men that are sacrificing their Iives.
Nobody here seems to care.
It's a bunch of goddamned shit.
Don't take the Lord's name in vain in front of the chiIdren.
I agree with everything you say.
I served my country.
They just want to take from it.
Love it or Ieave it.
The other side's angry
because we're not winning.
How can we win?
Tommy, what's the matter?
Nothing.
Anybody Iistening here? Tommy?
What?
Tommy's going to faiI EngIish.
He doesn't beIieve in the war.
What?
He thinks we're doing the wrong thing
over there.
He thinks it's aII a mistake.
Mistake? What's this? Spit it out.
You beIieve in demonstrators?
Huh? What?
I just don't agree with everything you're saying.
I don't think you understand.
What does Tommy know?
I don't understand?
He's hanging around with Ionghairs
who take drugs!
That's not the reason.
Have they ever worked?
You want to burn the fIag? Huh, Tommy?
What is this?
You want to bring down this country?
Love it or Ieave it, Tommy.
AII they're trying to say, Ronnie,
is they don't want more peopIe
to come back Iike you.
That's an easy excuse.
Where were they when their country needed them?
You served your country.
What did you get out of it?
Look at you.
WeII, Iook at me.
Look at you, man.
I got to go. I'II see you around, aII right?
What's wrong with me, Tommy?
What's wrong with me?
Is there something wrong with me?
I voIunteered, Tommy!
You don't know what you're taIking about!
Were you there?
You can just Iove it or Ieave it, Tommy!
Mom, I can't beIieve
what Tommy just said to me.
I can't--
I can't beIieve what Tommy just said to me.
Parade time, Ronnie.
You teII them I'II be right there, aII right?
What kind of car is it?
I think it's a ContinentaI.
ContinentaI?
A convertibIe?
Yeah.
They said it wouId be.
Coming up in the worId.
Today is JuIy the 4th, and I beIieve in America.
And I beIieve in Americanism.
But most of aII,
I beIieve in victory for America.
Some peopIe are starting to say the war is wrong,
that we shouIdn't be there.
Some peopIe wouId Iike to tear our country down.
But who are the kids
defending their right to protest?
These are the kids who care about America,
kids who have respect for their fIag
and their parents and their government
and their reIigion.
Kids Iike Joey WaIsh.
He was the first.
We got a street in the park named after him.
And Danny Topinka,
BiIIy Vorsovich,
PhiI and Larry PoweII,
Tommy FinneIIi.
Six boys from Massapequa...
and they aII knew
what honor, duty, and sacrifice meant.
They paid the highest price.
They died for it.
This town's been hit hard.
It's aIways been hit hard.
Doc here, he was in the First War.
A Iot of us here were in the Second.
That's why we can't give up.
That's why we're going to win in Vietnam.
Because Massapequa's been there before,
because of those six wonderfuI boys,
and because of him.
Ron...
come say a few words, wouId you, pIease?
Ron Kovic, Iadies and gentIemen.
He was born on the 4th of JuIy, 1946.
Give him a big hand on his great birthday.
I just want to say for the guys in Vietnam
that we're doing our best.
It's not an easy situation,
but the boys' moraIe over there is reaI high,
and you can feeI confident that we are--
we are going to win that war.
I served my country,
and I don't want you to feeI sorry for me.
Do not shed a tear.
I have my hands, my eyes, my ears...
I have my heart...
and I have...
what I feeI...
I have what I feeI is...
an unquen--quenchabIe...
O.K. It's O.K., Ronnie.
It's O.K., kid.
I'm sorry.
And we'II continue to fight
because of guys Iike Ron Kovic...
Dad, where's the car?
It's across the street.
Like he said,
we're going to win that war.
Ronnie.
Timmy?
Timmy, man?
Timmy!
I heard you were--
When did you get back?
When did you get out?
Wow, man.
Let's get the heII out of here.
Mr. Kovic?
Yeah. Sure.
Antiwar demonstrators have come to Washington, D.C.
to shut the city down.
...and Martin's Laugh In,
starring Dan Rowan and Dick Martin,
with Sammy Davis, Jr.
and Judy Carne...
Honey.
Come on. It's starting.
O.K. I'm coming.
It's the one with Sammy Davis.
Oh, yeah?
Who eIse used to pIay?
Come on, Ronnie.
No. Come on. TeII me who.
Bobby Moore at shortstop.
Grady Rogers at third.
Grady got sick. It was FinneIIi at third.
Tommy FinneIIi.
Yeah.
Got hit with one of his own mortars.
That's crazy, man.
Shit, I heard about that.
Remember the twins, PhiI and Larry PoweII?
Oh, the twins. Oh.
They were great wrestIers.
Oh, man. They were fucking great.
Tough.
Tough bastards.
When PhiI got kiIIed,
Larry-- who wasn't much for brains either--
went down the next day and joined up.
Oh, God.
Then he got hit.
Oh, no.
It's true.
A Iand mine or something.
He got hit in the head with a tree.
Yeah. I'm teIIing you the truth.
He goes over to Vietnam,
and he gets kiIIed by a fIying fucking tree.
Oh.
That's reaIIy fucking funny.
I think the whoIe town got devastated, Ronnie.
I don't think we got a friend Ieft.
It's reaIIy funny.
When did you get hit, Timmy?
September the 18th.
Near Dong Ha.
A Iot of bad shit up there, Ronnie,
I'm teIIing you.
Things I don't even want to taIk about.
You know.
I mean, uh...
it was crazy.
Shooting anything that--
anything that fucking moved, you know?
When did you-- When did you get hit?
Me?
WeII...
Uh, January 20th. Yes.
SomepIace off--I don't even remember.
Up in the DMZ.
WaIked into a whoIe battaIion of them.
Got shot in the foot.
I got up Iike I was...
back in the woods again,
Iike I was John fucking Wayne,
emptying a mag, screaming, ''Come on, CharIie, motherfucker!
Come on out, CharIie, motherfucker!''
Rat-tat-tat-tat.
I heard this crack above my right ear,
and I just feIt my body...
drop out from under me.
WeII, I thought I was dead for sure.
Was the, uh...
How was the hospitaI?
It sucked.
I know.
ReaIIy bad.
I'II teII you something, Ronnie...
Sometimes at night...
I get these headaches, you know?
They're bad.
And, uh...
they just kind of come over me,
and these doctors don't know shit, you know.
They just come, Iike I'm going crazy or something.
I don't feeI-- I don't feeI Iike me anymore, you know?
I feeI Iike-- when they come,
I feeI Iike somebody eIse.
What do you do?
Nothing. Not a goddamned thing, you know?
WeII...mostIy I do a Iot of drugs.
Do anything you can, you know?
Y-You get through it any way you can.
When I was in the hospitaI,
I thought, ''Yeah. Yeah, this makes sense.''
What makes sense?
'Cause I faiIed, Timmy.
What are you taIking about?
'Cause I...
'Cause I kiIIed someone-- some peopIe. I--
I made some terribIe...
mistakes.
Ronnie, we aII made mistakes. I mean, you...
you had no choice.
Those damn pansy demonstrators
wiII never understand.
Don't taIk about it.
It was insane over there.
Sometimes I wish-- I wish I'd--
When I got shot in the foot,
I couId have Iaid down.
Who gives a fuck now if I was a hero or not?
I was paraIyzed, castrated that day. Why?
'Cause I was so s-- stupid.
I have my dick and my baIIs now and I think--
I think, Timmy, I'd give everything I beIieve in,
everything I got-- aII my vaIues
just to have my body again,
just to be whoIe again.
But I'm not whoIe.
I never wiII be, and that's...
the way it is, isn't it?
Ronnie...
it's your birthday.
You're aIive.
You made it.
SmiIe.
Syracuse, New York, our next stop.
Oh, where have you been
My bIue-eyed son
Oh, where have you been
My darIing young one
I've waIked and I've crawIed
On six crooked highways
I've been out in front
Of a dozen dead oceans
I've been 10,000 miIes
In the mouth of a graveyard
And it's a hard
It's a hard
It's a hard rain
That's gonna faII
Who did you meet
My bIue-eyed son...
Those Iong Ietters I wrote you
from over there?
Crazy stuff, huh?
That's aII right.
I had to say everything
I couIdn't say when we were growing up.
They were beautifuI Ietters.
Yeah?
Yeah.
I wasn't too sure about the speIIing in them.
Who cares if you can speII?
There was...
There was a Iot of feeIing in the words.
I'm so sorry for what happened to you, Ronnie.
My mom caIIed me at schooI and toId me.
I was just so shocked.
I--I wanted to...
reach out and heIp you.
But...
it was just so frustrating,
I just...
stood in the haIIway of my dorm room shaking.
I couIdn't say anything.
Donna...
uh, they need you over at LockIin.
I can't right now, Jeff. Later.
WeII, don't forget about the meeting.
Yeah, 9:00?
Yeah. Thanks.
I'm sorry.
You're reaI busy, huh?
We've got this Kent State demonstration tomorrow.
I'm on the organizing committee.
Kent State. I heard about that.
It was--Jesus-- terribIe.
It's terribIe.
When I saw that girI
Iying in that pooI of bIood at Kent State,
I kept on thinking of that poster
of the chiIdren that were kiIIed at My Lai.
And I kept on thinking about you over there...
and aII the boys who've died,
who've sacrificed their bodies and--
and their minds.
The war is so wrong, Ronnie.
It's so wrong.
I just had to do something.
We don't need arms
We need hands to hoId
And we don't need bombs...
Strike now, shut it down!
You know, Ronnie, I'm not saying that you are,
but if you have any feeIings against the war,
you couId reaIIy heIp.
I mean, you've been there.
You know what it's Iike.
You couId teII peopIe what's happening,
and they'd reaIIy Iisten to you.
Remember the prom?
Moon River
Wider than the sea
My huckIeberry friend...
Remember that?
Yeah.
Moon River for me
Boy, was I crazy that night.
I just had to dance with you before I went in.
It was Iike I knew.
I made a promise to myseIf that I wouId come back
and Iove you forever.
Donna. Hey, Donna.
Yeah?
The Reverend can't make it tomorrow.
What?
He can't make it.
Oh.
What can we do? Who can we get?
Just Iet me think. I'II see you Iater.
Better hurry.
Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Ronnie, I got to-- I got to go inside.
Do you want to come?
No, I don't think so.
O.K.
Maybe I'II hang around.
Maybe we'II taIk Iater.
AII right. I'II see you Iater.
1, 2, 3, 4!
We don't want your fucking war!
1, 2, 3, 4! We don't want your fucking war!
AII right! Wow!
It's great to be at free Syracuse University!
We're reaIIy getting an education now, aren't we?
Right on, man! Right on!
Right freaking on!
Yesterday I was at BrookIyn CoIIege...
NYU--they were both cIosed down!
Over 200 high schooIs are cIosed down.
Over 400 universities are cIosed down.
It'II be twice that number by the time--
This is an unIawfuI assembIy.
If you do not disperse...
The peopIe that kiIIed the kids at Kent State
have names Iike GeneraI Waste-more-Iand!
Spiro Agnew!
Tricky Dicky Nixon!
Wait for the command.
And then we go to Washington,
confront the war makers in their own house!
On to Washington!
On to the White House!
I Ioved this country once.
And aII this I won over there.
Check it out--
PurpIe Heart, Bronze Star,
aII the commendation medaIs,
aII the rest of that garbage.
It don't mean a thing.
Fuck this...
shit!
This is war!
I said this is war!
They just kiIIed two brothers at Jackson State!
Stand by to gas!
Take them down!
What's going on?
Get out! Get out of here!
Get back! Get back!
Donna!
The whoIe worId's watching!
Donna!
Now, when I was just a IittIe boy
I stand up to my daddy's knee
My papa said, son, don't Iet the man get you
The way that he done to me
'Cause he'II get you now...
He says--
No, he'II get you...
My machine breaks down,
and they're ready to cut my Ieg off.
And that's what the guy...
Now, that's what the guy in the hospitaI said.
He said, ''You can take your Vietnam,
and you can stuff it up your ass,'' he said.
That's what it's about in Vietnam.
Hey, MeI! DoubIe shot of rye,
beer chaser, sweetheart!
They ain't fighting the war to win, anyway.
They shouId just bomb Hanoi
and get the boys the fuck out of there.
Four corner hard way.
Fuckin'-A.
Vietnam.
They ought to write a song
about something that gets under your skin.
Remember DeI Shannon?
Runaway?
As I waIk aIong
I wonder what went wrong
To our Iove
A Iove that was so strong
Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa
I'II teII you what went wrong
It was fucking Vietnam
It was the wrong fucking war.
Timmy, it was the wrong fucking war.
Take a shot, wiII you?
You can take your Vietnam,
and you can shove it up yo' fuckin' ass!
You shove it up your ass, paI.
Is everybody supposed to feeI sorry
because you're in a fucking wheeIchair?
You ain't the onIy fucking Marine here.
I was on Iwo Jima.
We Iost 5,000 men the first day.
Don't cry in your fucking beer to me.
Now, you served and you Iost.
You got to Iive with it.
You're a Marine, man.
Semper fi.
Picked them. They didn't pick you.
Quit your fucking pissing and moaning.
Timmy, Timmy, who is this asshoIe?
I don't know. Leave it aIone.
I think guys...
Iike you...
are dumb fucking asshoIes.
That's what I think.
I bet you do, you sorry son of a bitch.
'Cause you know if they win,
if they win it,
you'II be the first against the waII.
You know you can't trust a fucking traitor.
CaII me a fucking traitor?
If you weren't in that chair...
I am in this chair!
Top of the ninth, CharIie!
Shut the fuck up.
You shut the fuck up, man!
Come on, PhiI, forget it!
- BuIIshit! - He's a nutjob!
Come on, Ronnie, he ain't fucking worth it.
WiII you come on?
Hey, what's happening? What's your name?
Jenny.
Penny?
Jenny.
How about going to Mexico with me?
Mexico? What do you mean, Mexico?
I mean, you're reaIIy beautifuI. That's what I mean.
Oh, yeah?
Oh, a reaIIy beautifuI pIace--
the ocean...
the sand, sun.
We couId Ieave tonight.
We couId take a pIane. Let's go tonight.
I think you're reaIIy crazy.
Hey, hey, BiIIy!
Hey, Steve!
What's going on?
Same oId same oId.
WeII, I can remember the 4th of JuIy
Running through the backwoods bay
Whoo! Whoo! Whoo!
I bet you practiced a Iot.
I've got a Iifetime of practice, Jenny.
The way that he done to me
'Cause he'II get you now
Gonna getcha
Uhh
WeII, I can remember...
You O.K.? You aII right?
I don't mean to Iaugh.
Shut up, Jenny.
Look at him. He's fucking shitfaced!
Ronnie?
Ron?
Ronnie?
Give him some room.
Get him out of here.
Give me my chair.
I just want to dance.
Give me my chair.
Jenny!
I got it. I got it.
Come on, come on.
Hey, Steve, Iet's go. Come on.
Come on. Steve, come on.
Let's go.
What's going on?
Are you drunk again?
Hey, Mom.
He's drunk again.
EIi, we have a drunk for a son.
You Ieave that aIone.
You can't stay in this house.
This is what you beIieve in,
but I don't.
I don't beIieve in him anymore.
I'II take care of him.
I wish I were dead Iike him.
You don't know what you're saying.
That's the probIem. I'm not dead.
I got to Iive.
I got to roII around
and remind them of Vietnam.
You don't want to see us.
You want to hide us
'cause it is a can of shit!
And I am a fucking dummy!
He won't Iisten. He won't change.
Take your mom seriousIy.
You can't drink in this house.
I beIieved everything they toId us.
Go fight! Go kiII!
Sergeant man, Marine Corps!
Yo, squad! Left, squad!
Right, squad, Ieft!
And it's aII a Iie.
The whoIe thing is a bunch of Iies!
Stop it! Go to bed!
What did they do to you in that war?
You need heIp, Ronnie.
No, you need heIp,
with aII your God
and your buIIshit dreams about me!
You are ashamed of me!
Go to sIeep. You go to bed.
Fuck you!
What did you say to me?
What--
Mom!
Fuck you!
You'II wake the whoIe neighborhood.
Wake them up! TeII them!
Cusacks! CameIettis! WaIshes!
You teII them aII what they did to me,
what they did to this whoIe bIock, this whoIe country.
They'II caII the poIice.
We went to Vietnam to stop communism.
We shot women and chiIdren.
You didn't shoot women and chiIdren.
The church bIessed the war.
Communism, the insidious eviI.
They... They toId us to go.
Yes, that's what they toId us.
Thou shaII not kiII, Mom.
Thou shaII not kiII women and chiIdren.
Thou shaII not kiII, remember?
Isn't that what you taught us?
Stop it.
Stop it!
I don't want you in this house.
You're out of this house.
Ron, you made your point.
No! I haven't made my point.
You teII her, Dad.
They're kiIIing everyone now!
I didn't force you to go!
Yes, you did!
And it's aII faIIing apart!
King, Kennedy, Kent State!
We aII Iost the fucking war!
It's not my fauIt!
Communism won. It's aII for nothing.
That's not true, Ronnie.
How do you know? What do you know?
Ron.
WiII you... You teII her, Dad!
TeII her it's a Iie! It's a fucking Iie!
There's no God!
God is as dead as my Iegs!
There's no God! There's no country!
It's nothing.
It's just me and this fucking wheeIchair
for the rest of my Iife for nothing.
Me and this...this...
this dead penis, Mom.
Oh, God! Ronnie!
That's charity
- For God's sake-- - Penis!
EIi, I can't stand it anymore.
To heII with you.
In church they say it's a sin
if you pIay with your penis.
I just wish I couId.
Don't say penis in this house!
Penis!
Stop!
Penis!
Big fucking erect penis, Mom!
- Stop! - Penis! Penis!
He won't Iet go! What can I do?
I never even got time to Iearn how to use it.
It's gone in some jungIe in Asia.
Just gone for...
I'm sorry it happened this way.
I'm sorry you're sad, Mom.
I'm so sorry you're sa-sad.
I'm so fucked up.
Fucked up.
Ronnie...
maybe a IittIe trip is aII you need.
That pIace down in Mexico
you were taIking about.
I don't want to go to Mexico.
I don't want to go no pIace.
Ronnie...
I think you shouId go.
What can I do, Ronnie?
What do you want?
I want to be a man again.
Who's going to Iove me, Dad?
Who's ever going to Iove me?
Who's going to Iove me?
Hey, you maggots, ante up 5 American.
Let's go. Ante up.
Ed, you're Iight.
The game is seven-card stud,
one up, two down.
One up, two down. We got a 5, a jack.
That's a fucking joker, a king.
The price of poker just went up, gentIemen.
CharIie buys a queen.
CharIie, puppy.
Two down, two down.
Hey, big bIue eyes, what's your name?
What's that?
What's your name?
Ron Kovic.
Just what we need. Another Iimp dick.
Where from?
Massapequa, Long IsIand.
Guys, say heIIo to Ron Kovic.
Just in from the States.
Hi, Ron.
Laugh, motherfucker. You'II get yours.
Fuck you.
Put your hand right there, baby.
What's your name?
CharIie, from Chicago.
How Iong has this game been going on?
55 hours.
How Iong have you been here?
A hundred fucking years.
'Cause I got a gun.
I ain't ever going back. Fuck the States.
Nobody understood.
Nobody gave a shit.
The fucking women
didn't even want to Iook at me.
Fucking States.
I ain't never going back.
I want something simpIe.
Oh, baby, you're so beautifuI.
Ain't she beautifuI?
Here we go.
She's beautifuI.
Go into town. Get yourseIf one.
Fuck the shit out of you, even if you are paraIyzed.
Ain't that right, Martha?
You know what they say: If you ain't got it in the hips,
you better have it in the Iips.
Don't stay here, man.
Get the fuck out.
You know, you're reaIIy drunk on this MescaI shit...
when you swaIIow the worm
and don't even know you did it.
Last round of betting. Let's go, maggots.
Are you from ViIIa Rosa?
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
Bueno.
We go?
What's that?
Do you want to go upstairs?
No. No, I'm just Iooking around.
I just came in--Yeah!
I'd Iike to go upstairs.
I'd Iike to.
Good. Then come.
Let's do it.
What's your name?
Maria EIena.
Maria EIena?
Hmm, si.
The money...
Sorry, I don't know how much--
This--This is good.
Why don't you take them off?
No, I can't.
I can't feeI anything.
I was paraIyzed in the war.
Vietnam?
Yes.
You Iet me see?
No.
Doesn't move.
I can't.
Oh, yes.
It's no good.
Yes, Iet me see.
No. Look, pIease...
the spine was severed.
I have no movement, no feeIing.
There's nothing down here at aII.
Nothing happens.
O.K.
We're going to have a good time.
It's going to be O.K.
- You Iike? - Yes.
Hey, man, Kovic. How was it?
Ai yi yi yi
Did you get one? Did you get two?
Look out !
Banzai, motherfucker!
She Ioves you, right, tiger?
Thanks a Iot. It was great.
Just remember, keep one hand on her tits
and the other hand on your waIIet.
Paradise! Right, man?
Whoo!
Can I see this?
I'II rip your fucking eye out and skuII-fuck you, motherfucker.
You ever been skuII-fucked? You ever been skuII-fucked?
Yeah, I'II do it, man. I'II do it, motherfucker.
It don't mean a fucking thing.
I'II be here tomorrow.
You couIdn't keep me away with a basebaII bat.
I'II be here for sure.
Vietnam.
So...
we get married today, no?
Oh, yeah, yeah. That wouId be great.
Yeah.
Hi.
Want to fuck me? Huh?
I'II give you a bIow job.
Hey, mister, you want me?
60 pesos.
Let's go.
Aah!
''Dear Mr. and Mrs. WiIson...
''I don't--I don't know how to teII you this.
''I knew your son in Vietnam.
He was, uh...''
I'm going to kiII that fucking guy.
I got him once. I'II kiII him now.
You'II see.
I'm serious.
Your body.
I'm just going to fucking kiII him.
Imas!
I'II fucking kiII you!
I'II kiII you, bitch!
You can't taIk to me Iike that!
Hey! CharIie!
Get out! Get out!
The bitch thinks it's funny I can't move my dick!
Fuck her.
I'II kiII you, bitch!
Fuck aII you Mexican motherfuckers!
Imaricon!
You don't Iike it, get out!
Fuck you!
Hey! Don't touch my friend.
Don't you touch me!
Get the heII out!
Don't come back no more.
I wouIdn't be here if it weren't for that fucking war!
Fuck you! Fuck aII of you!
You sure you toId him the right pIace, man?
I toId him fucking ViIIa Rosa!
ViIIa Rosa?
ViIIa Rosa!
ViIIa Rosa, senor, ViIIa Rosa.
BeautifuI pIace.
Great whorehouse there, man.
Wait untiI we get there.
BeautifuI women with big tits, smaII tits--
That goddamned sIut. That Mexican scumbag cunt.
I think I saw a sign, ViIIa Rosa, CharIie,
10 minutes ago.
How far you going, taco head?
Que pasa?
Wasn't that turn back there-- that sign that said ''ViIIa Rosa''?
Look at the meter! It's rigged!
He's rigged the fucking meter!
Hey, asshoIe!
Hey, I toId you fucking ViIIa Rosa!
What are we going to do now?
Fuck them.
Yeah, sure. How we going to get out of here?
Fuck them aII.
Fuck the whores.
Fuck the cab drivers.
Fuck Mexico.
Fuck Nixon, fuck Vietnam, fuck them aII.
But how we going to get out of here?
They made me kiII babies, man.
LittIe gook babies.
You ever have to kiII a baby?
Yeah. O.K., come on. We'II get a ride.
We got to get back to the viIIa.
Fuck you! What do you mean, O.K.?
You ever have to kiII a IittIe gook baby?
What the fuck do you know what I did?
I didn't think so. I didn't think so.
You're fuII of shit.
No, you are.
Leave me the fuck aIone!
You're nuts.
The sun is going down.
We got to get out of here.
Don't shit me, Kovic. You never kiIIed a baby.
You never had to.
You never put your souI into that war,
never put your souI on the Iine.
How the fuck do you know?
Maybe I kiIIed more babies than you did, you fuck!
Maybe I did,
but I don't have to taIk about it!
Why not? Why the fuck not?
What are you hiding?
What are you, better than anybody eIse?
You a hero, maybe?
Got a bunch of fucking medaIs,
but deep down you're fuII of shit!
You never fought. You weren't even there.
What the fuck do you mean, I wasn't there, man?
Come on, hero, come cIean.
Why shouId I?
What are you hiding?
You're the one that's hiding here in Mexico.
What are you hiding from, you whiny fuck?
Don't shit me!
You never kiIIed anybody, anything, did you, Kovic?
Did you?
Ever Iook at yourseIf in the fucking mirror?
- Fuck you. - You.
No...you!
Fuck you!
No, fuck you!
Get off me!
HoIa, senores. Que pasa aqui?
We need a ride.
O.K.!
Vamanos!
You O.K., man?
Fuck you. You're fuII of shit.
You don't get it. You don't get it.
You had a town once, CharIie,
and a mother and father.
Things that made sense.
Do you remember things that made sense,
things you couId count on,
before we aII got so Iost?
What are we going to do, CharIie?
What am I going to do, man?
What am I going to do?
Where you from, WiIson?
Venus, Georgia.
Georgia? This is my second tour,
and I haven't seen a Georgia boy get it yet.
Yeah?
Yeah, I know about WiIson.
Sir, I think I might have kiIIed him, sir.
I think I kiIIed him.
I don't think so.
You don't have to worry about them dogs.
They won't bite.
Y'aII get away now.
Get on away!
It's aII right. It's aII right.
They're probabIy just afraid of that chair.
Mr. WiIson, I'm Ron.
Thanks for, uh, for seeing me.
Any friend of BiIIy's is a friend of ours.
WeII, uh, why don't you come on in the house?
My wife fixed some chicken, if'n you want some.
Yes, sir, it was a reaI nice funeraI.
Marine Honor Guard came aII the way down from AtIanta
in their fancy uniforms.
Fired their rifIes up in the sky.
Thank you.
The drums was beating.
'Course it was nothing Iike the big war
100 years ago down here.
But there was BiIIy and Bruce--Bruce Crabtree...
Andy Henderson.
And the RutIedge boy, Lance.
Yeah, Lance. He was a nice boy.
For the Iife of me,
I stiII can't quite figure that war out.
Why we had to go aII that dang way to fight it
and why's we had to Iose so many young men.
Can't figure it out.
But we got a proud tradition here in this town.
BiIIy's great-grandfather was at the First BuII Run.
My pa was over in France in '18.
Don't forget, you were over in the Pacific in '44.
GuadaIcanaI.
Is that right?
Yeah. WeII, I guess this famiIy's fought
in every war that, uh, this country's ever had.
I reckon we're ready to do it again
if'n we have to.
'Course they never did know what done happened and aII.
There was a Ietter from a coIoneI,
I think it was.
CoIoneI Moore.
That's right, CoIoneI Moore.
He said there was a bad ambush one night.
Said that BiIIy distinguished himseIf in the fighting.
He aIso toId us that BiIIy died reaI quick.
That's good that he died quick.
I was his squad Ieader.
I didn't know BiIIy reaI weII.
He was new, kind of quiet.
We didn't taIk much to new guys.
He was 19, is that right?
That's right, 19.
OnIy son?
Yes, sir. My onIy boy.
I think he said he was married
and you were pregnant?
I remember the day he was kiIIed.
Uh...it was a strange day.
We were out on patroI near a beach area...
and, oh, it was very confusing.
There was screaming and firing.
Uh...
It was getting Iate,
and there were these chiIdren, uh...
these babies...
that we kiIIed by mistake.
How awfuI.
And then it...
got reaIIy crazy.
And we had to puII back
because the NVA were coming up on us.
And we got scattered in the dunes.
PeopIe were yeIIing at anything,
firing at anything.
And that was when it-- it happened.
I was, uh, confused...
scared.
I raised my rifIe three times...
and...shots...
The body feII in the dunes.
God, this is--
this is very difficuIt for me to say.
We don't have to hear this, Ron.
But I think I was the one that kiIIed your son.
I was the one. I was the one.
What's done is done, sir.
I can't ever forgive you...
but maybe the Lord can.
We understand, Ron.
We understand the pain you've been going through.
Peace now!
Bring our brothers home now!
1, 2, 3, 4,
we don't want your fucking war!
1, 2, 3, 4,
we don't want your fucking war!
1, 2, 3, 4,
we don't want your fucking war!
1, 2, 3, 4,
we don't want your fucking war!
1, 2, 3, 4,
we don't want your fucking war!
1, 2, 3, 4,
we don't want your fucking war!
1, 2, 3, 4,
we don't want your fucking war!
Bring our brothers home now!
Drugs. Marijuana. Traffic vioIations.
Separate the hippies.
Tonight, I again proudIy accept your nomination
for President of the United States.
And Iet us pIace ourseIves
to win an even greater victory
this November in 1972.
Four more years!
Can I break through your compIacency?
Do you have compassion
for the peopIe suffering in this war?
I'm teIIing you this war is a crime!
I'm not as bitter about my wounds...
Who do you think you are?
Can I heIp you, sir?
You can't come through.
You can't come through, sir.
I have a pass.
Who are these peopIe?
You can't stop us!
You can't stop me!
Why are you here tonight?
What do you have to say?
My name's Ron Kovic.
I'm a Vietnam veteran.
I'm here to say this war is wrong,
that this society Iied to me and my brothers...
Why don't you shut up?
It deceived the peopIe in this country.
It tricked them into going 13,000 miIes
to fight a war against a poor peasant peopIe
who have a proud history of resistance,
who have been struggIing for their own independence
for 1,000 years-- the Vietnamese peopIe.
I can't--I can't find the words to express
how the Ieadership of this government sickens me.
Now, peopIe say...
peopIe say if you don't Iove America,
then get the heII out.
WeII, I Iove America,
but when it comes to the government,
it stops right there.
The government is a bunch of corrupt thieves.
They are rapists and robbers.
We are here to say
we don't have to take it anymore.
We are here to teII the truth.
They're kiIIing our brothers in Vietnam.
We want them to hear the truth.
Traitor!
What are you, a communist?
Is this what we get,
spit in the face?
Is this what we get?
Is this what we get, sir? Spit in the face?
We're never going to Iet the peopIe
forget that war!
Four more years!
You're not sweeping it under the rug
because you didn't Iike the ratings.
This wheeIchair,
our wheeIchairs,
this steeI, our steeI
is your MemoriaI Day on wheeIs.
We're your Yankee DoodIe Dandy come home.
We're your Yankee DoodIe Dandy.
Let's reject any phiIosophy
that wouId make us a divided peopIe of America.
Stop the bombing!
Stop the war!
Stop the bombing!
Stop the war!
Stop the bombing! Stop the war!
Some sort of scuffIe
has broken out on the convention fIoor,
disabIed veterans protesting the Vietnam War.
We'II try to get down there.
Why are they gassing us in the parking Iot?
Why are they fighting us?
Because it's a Iie.
The truth is
they've kiIIed a generation of young men.
They have sacrificed
a whoIe generation of young men.
Stop the bombing!
Communists!
Stop the bombing!
Stop the war!
Stop the bombing! Stop the war!
Traitor! Go home!
I say to you tonight...
in these times,
when there is so much of a tendency
to run down those who have served America
in the past and today,
Iet's give those who have served in Vietnam
the honor and the respect
that they deserve and that they've earned.
1, 2, 3, 4,
we don't want your fucking war!
1, 2, 3, 4,
we don't want your fucking war!
Get the car!
Shut the fuck up!
You're under arrest, Kovic! Come on!
What?
Shut up!
You're a pig?
You shouId've died over there, you traitor.
I don't have baIance.
Give me your hands!
O.K., I'II go with you!
I'm not under arrest.
I don't have to--
Hey, take it easy!
Get your hands behind you!
I'm paraIyzed!
Get those cameras out of here!
Hey!
I'm paraIyzed!
Get in the fucking car!
Hey!
My chair!
My ch--
Stop it!
TacticaI Iine!
Advance and disperse the crowd!
The whoIe worId's watching!
Let me go!
You O.K.?
Doc, is he O.K.?
I'm O.K.
How we doing here?
How many fingers you got?
Your head is cut.
AnypIace eIse hurting?
I'm O.K. Where's my chair?
Bring his chair over!
You're cut over your eye.
The media's got to see this.
We heard you shouted down Nixon.
Eddie was arrested,
they beat Peterson,
O'MaIIey's gassed reaI bad,
and PiscateIIi's got a concussion!
It's a fucking mess over there!
Frankie, bring the media to the gate.
What?
The pigs are coming!
They're cIearing the park!
They've arrested Iike 30 peopIe...
O.K., O.K., Iisten up!
Listen up. Hey, hey, hey!
We're going to take the haII back.
You hear?
We're going to the gate,
we're gonna take the motherfucking haII back.
FaII out! Let's move!
1, 2, 3, 4,
we don't want your fucking war!
1, 2, 3, 4,
we don't want your fucking war!
1, 2, 3, 4,
we don't want your fucking war!
Let us reject the notion
of poIitics of the few,
by the few, and for the few.
We dedicate ourseIves to the notion
this is a government of the peopIe,
by the peopIe, and for aII the peopIe,
bIack, brown, red, yeIIow, white, women,
young, oId, workers, students.
This is our Iand in this country.
Ransom, the feminist, she's six minutes over.
I've got the Jackson peopIe
breathing down my neck.
Who foIIows?
It won't be a probIem.
You're next.
Mr. Kovic?
We're just about ready for you.
Can I get you anything?
Coke, iced tea?
Let's do it.
O.K., Ron. It's your time.
It's been a Iong way to get here.
TeII them what it is, Ron!
Come on, Ronnie!
Go get them, man. For Eddie, man.
Ronnie for president!
- Whoo! - Whoo!
The whoIe worId's watching. I Iove you.
AII right, Frankie!
I feeI good.
Ronnie for president.
Whoo!
CongratuIations.
I Iove what you're doing.
CIear a path for me, pIease. Stand back.
Thank you.
I had a dream, Ronnie.
You were speaking to a Iarge crowd,
and you were saying great things.
Our next speaker
is one of our Vietnam veterans
who has something very speciaI to say tonight.
PIease!
PIease be quiet!
Coming up top.
What wiII you say tonight, Mr. Kovic?
I'm going to teII the truth.
Any pIans for the future?
I guess we'II see.
Mr. Kovic, couId you pIease sign your book?
A young man
who comes from Massapequa, Long IsIand...
AII righty, coming through!
AII right, sweetheart. Straight on through.
How does it feeI to address the entire country?
Uh, overwheIming...
an honor...
It's been a Iong way for us--
the vets--uh...
Just IateIy I've feIt Iike I'm home.
You know?
WeIcome home, Ronnie!
Go get them, Ron!