Today is July the 4th, and I believe in America.
And I believe in Americanism.
But most of all,
I believe in victory for America.
Some people are starting to say the war is wrong,
That we shouldn't be there.
Some people would like 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 flag
and their parents and their government
and their religion.
Kids like Joey Walsh.
He was the first.
We got a street in the park named after him.
And Danny Topinka,
Billy Vorsovich,
Phil and Larry Powell,
Tommy Finnelli.
Six boys from Massapequa...
and they all knew
what honor, duty, and sacrifice meant.
They paid the highest price.
They died for it.
This town's been hit hard.
It's always been hit hard.
Doc here, he was in the First War.
A lot 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 wonderful boys,
and because of him.
Ron...
come say a few words, would you, please?
Ron Kovic, ladies and gentlemen.
He was born on the 4th of July, 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' morale over there is real high,
and you can feel confident that we are...
we are going to win that war.
I served my country,
and I don't want you to feel 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 feel...
I have what I feel is...
an unquen... quenchable...
O.K. It's O.K., Ronnie.
It's O.K., kid.
I'm sorry.
And we'll continue to fight
because of guys like 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 hell 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 else used to play?
Come on, Ronnie.
No. Come on. Tell me who.
Bobby Moore at shortstop.
Grady Rogers at third.
Grady got sick. It was Finnelli at third.
Tommy Finnelli.
Yeah.
Got hit with one of his own mortars.
That's crazy, man.
Shit, I heard about that.
Remember the twins, Phil and Larry Powell?
Oh, the twins. Oh.
They were great wrestlers.
Oh, man. They were fucking great.
Tough.
Tough bastards.
When Phil got killed,
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 land mine or something.
He got hit in the head with a tree.
Yeah. I'm telling you the truth.
He goes over to Vietnam,
and he gets killed by a flying fucking tree.
Oh.
That's really fucking funny.
I think the whole town got devastated, Ronnie.
I don't think we got a friend left.
It's really funny.
When did you get hit, Timmy?
September the 18th.
Near Dong Ha.
A lot of bad shit up there, Ronnie,
I'm telling you.
Things I don't even want to talk 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?
Well...
Uh, January 20th. Yes.
Someplace off... I don't even remember.
Up in the DMZ.
Walked into a whole battalion of them.
Got shot in the foot.
I got up like I was...
back in the woods again,
like I was John fucking Wayne,
emptying a mag, screaming, "Come on, Charlie, motherfucker!
Come on out, Charlie, motherfucker!"
Rat-tat-tat-tat.
I heard this crack above my right ear,
and I just felt my body...
drop out from under me.
Well, I thought I was dead for sure.
Was the, uh...
How was the hospital?
It sucked.
I know.
Really bad.
I'll tell 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, like I'm going crazy or something.
I don't feel... I don't feel like me anymore, you know?
I feel like... when they come,
I feel like somebody else.
What do you do?
Nothing. Not a goddamned thing, you know?
Well... mostly I do a lot of drugs.
Do anything you can, you know?
Y-You get through it any way you can.
When I was in the hospital,
I thought, "Yeah. Yeah, this makes sense."
What makes sense?
'Cause I failed, Timmy.
What are you talking about?
'Cause I...
'Cause I killed someone... some people. L...
I made some terrible...
mistakes.
Ronnie, we all made mistakes. I mean, you...
you had no choice.
Those damn pansy demonstrators
will never understand.
Don't talk about it.
It was insane over there.
Sometimes I wish... I wish I'd...
When I got shot in the foot,
I could have laid down.
Who gives a fuck now if I was a hero or not?
I was paralyzed, castrated that day. Why?
'Cause I was so s... stupid.
I have my dick and my balls now and I think...
I think, Timmy, I'd give everything I believe in,
everything I got... all my values
just to have my body again,
just to be whole again.
But I'm not whole.
I never will be, and that's...
the way it is, isn't it?
Ronnie...
it's your birthday.
You're alive.
You made it.
Smile.
Syracuse, New York, our next stop.
# Oh, where have you been #
# My blue-eyed son #
# Oh, where have you been #
# My darling young one #
# I've walked and I've crawled #
# On six crooked highways #
# I've been out in front #
# Of a dozen dead oceans #
# I've been 10,000 miles #
# In the mouth of a graveyard #
# And it's a hard #
# It's a hard #
# It's a hard rain #
# That's gonna fall #
# Who did you meet #
# My blue-eyed son... ##
Those long letters I wrote you
from over there?
Crazy stuff, huh?
That's all right.
I had to say everything
I couldn't say when we were growing up.
They were beautiful letters.
Yeah?
Yeah.
I wasn't too sure about the spelling in them.
Who cares if you can spell?
There was...
There was a lot of feeling in the words.
I'm so sorry for what happened to you, Ronnie.
My mom called me at school and told me.
I was just so shocked.
L... I wanted to...
reach out and help you.
But...
it was just so frustrating,
I just...
stood in the hallway of my dorm room shaking.
I couldn't say anything.
Donna...
uh, they need you over at Locklin.
I can't right now, Jeff. Later.
Well, don't forget about the meeting.
Yeah, 9:00?
Yeah. Thanks.
I'm sorry.
You're real 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... terrible.
It's terrible.
When I saw that girl
lying in that pool of blood at Kent State,
I kept on thinking of that poster
of the children that were killed at My Lai.
And I kept on thinking about you over there...
and all 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 hold #
# 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 feelings against the war,
you could really help.
I mean, you've been there.
You know what it's like.
You could tell people what's happening,
and they'd really listen to you.
Remember the prom?
# Moon River #
# Wider than the sea #
# My huckleberry 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 like I knew.
I made a promise to myself that I would come back
and love 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 let me think. I'll see you later.
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'll hang around.
Maybe we'll talk later.
All right. I'll see you later.
1, 2, 3, 4!
We don't want your fucking war!
1, 2, 3, 4! We don't want your fucking war!
All right! Wow!
It's great to be at free Syracuse University!
We're really getting an education now, aren't we?
Right on, man! Right on!
Right freaking on!
Yesterday I was at Brooklyn College...
NYU... they were both closed down!
Over 200 high schools are closed down.
Over 400 universities are closed down.
It'll be twice that number by the time...
This is an unlawful assembly.
If you do not disperse...
The people that killed the kids at Kent State
have names like General Waste-more-land!
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 loved this country once.
And all this I won over there.
Check it out...
Purple Heart, Bronze Star,
all the commendation medals,
all the rest of that garbage.
It don't mean a thing.
Fuck this...
shit!
This is war!
I said this is war!
They just killed 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 whole world's watching!
Donna!
# Now, when I was just a little boy #
# I stand up to my daddy's knee #
# My papa said, son, don't let the man get you #
# The way that he done to me #
# 'Cause he'll get you now... #
He says...
# No, he'll get you... #
My machine breaks down,
and they're ready to cut my leg off.
And that's what the guy...
Now, that's what the guy in the hospital 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, Mel! Double shot of rye,
beer chaser, sweetheart!
They ain't fighting the war to win, anyway.
They should 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 Del Shannon?
Runaway?
# As I walk along #
# I wonder what went wrong #
# To our love #
# A love that was so strong #
# Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa #
# I'll tell you what went wrong #
# It was fucking Vietnam ##
It was the wrong fucking war.
Timmy, it was the wrong fucking war.
Take a shot, will you?
You can take your Vietnam,
and you can shove it up yo' fuckin' ass!
You shove it up your ass, pal.
Is everybody supposed to feel sorry
because you're in a fucking wheelchair?
You ain't the only fucking Marine here.
I was on Iwo Jima.
We lost 5,000 men the first day.
Don't cry in your fucking beer to me.
Now, you served and you lost.
You got to live 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 asshole?
I don't know. Leave it alone.
I think guys...
like you...
are dumb fucking assholes.
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'll be the first against the wall.
You know you can't trust a fucking traitor.
Call me a fucking traitor?
If you weren't in that chair...
I am in this chair!
Top of the ninth, Charlie!
Shut the fuck up.
You shut the fuck up, man!
Come on, Phil, forget it!
- Bullshit! - He's a nutjob!
Come on, Ronnie, he ain't fucking worth it.
Will 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 really beautiful. That's what I mean.
Oh, yeah?
Oh, a really beautiful place...
the ocean...
the sand, sun.
We could leave tonight.
We could take a plane. Let's go tonight.
I think you're really crazy.
Hey, hey, Billy!
Hey, Steve!
What's going on?
Same old same old.
# Well, I can remember the 4th of July #
# Running through the backwoods bay #
Whoo! Whoo! Whoo!
I bet you practiced a lot.
I've got a lifetime of practice, Jenny.
# The way that he done to me #
# 'Cause he'll get you now #
# Gonna getcha #
# Uhh #
# Well, I can remember... ##
You O.K.? You all right?
I don't mean to laugh.
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, let'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.
Eli, we have a drunk for a son.
You leave that alone.
You can't stay in this house.
This is what you believe in,
but I don't.
I don't believe in him anymore.
I'll take care of him.
I wish I were dead like him.
You don't know what you're saying.
That's the problem. I'm not dead.
I got to live.
I got to roll 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 listen. He won't change.
Take your mom seriously.
You can't drink in this house.
I believed everything they told us.
Go fight! Go kill!
Sergeant man, Marine Corps!
Yo, squad! Left, squad!
Right, squad, left!
And it's all a lie.
The whole thing is a bunch of lies!
Stop it! Go to bed!
What did they do to you in that war?
You need help, Ronnie.
No, you need help,
with all your God
and your bullshit dreams about me!
You are ashamed of me!
Go to sleep. You go to bed.
Fuck you!
What did you say to me?
What...
Mom!
Fuck you!
You'll wake the whole neighborhood.
Wake them up! Tell them!
Cusacks! Camelettis! Walshes!
You tell them all what they did to me,
what they did to this whole block, this whole country.
They'll call the police.
We went to Vietnam to stop communism.
We shot women and children.
You didn't shoot women and children.
The church blessed the war.
Communism, the insidious evil.
They... They told us to go.
Yes, that's what they told us.
Thou shall not kill, Mom.
Thou shall not kill women and children.
Thou shall not kill, 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 tell her, Dad.
They're killing everyone now!
I didn't force you to go!
Yes, you did!
And it's all falling apart!
King, Kennedy, Kent State!
We all lost the fucking war!
It's not my fault!
Communism won. It's all for nothing.
That's not true, Ronnie.
How do you know? What do you know?
Ron.
Will you... You tell her, Dad!
Tell her it's a lie! It's a fucking lie!
There's no God!
God is as dead as my legs!
There's no God! There's no country!
It's nothing.
It's just me and this fucking wheelchair
for the rest of my life for nothing.
Me and this... this...
this dead penis, Mom.
Oh, God! Ronnie!
No, not with the catheter.
- For God's sake... - Penis!
Eli, I can't stand it anymore.
To hell with you.
In church they say it's a sin
if you play with your penis.
I just wish I could.
Don't say penis in this house!
Penis!
Stop!
Penis!
Big fucking erect penis, Mom!
- Stop! - Penis! Penis!
He won't let go! What can I do?
I never even got time to learn how to use it.
It's gone in some jungle 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 little trip is all you need.
That place down in Mexico
you were talking about.
I don't want to go to Mexico.
I don't want to go no place.
Ronnie...
I think you should go.
What can I do, Ronnie?
What do you want?
I want to be a man again.
Who's going to love me, Dad?
Who's ever going to love me?
Who's going to love me?
Hey, you maggots, ante up 5 American.
Let's go. Ante up.
Ed, you're light.
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, gentlemen.
Charlie buys a queen.
Charlie, puppy.
Two down, two down.
Hey, big blue eyes, what's your name?
What's that?
What's your name?
Ron Kovic.
Just what we need. Another limp dick.
Where from?
Massapequa, Long Island.
Guys, say hello to Ron Kovic.
Just in from the States.
Hi, Ron.
Laugh, motherfucker. You'll get yours.
Fuck you.
Put your hand right there, baby.
What's your name?
Charlie, from Chicago.
How long has this game been going on?
55 hours.
How long 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 look at me.
Fucking States.
I ain't never going back.
I want something simple.
Oh, baby, you're so beautiful.
Ain't she beautiful?
Here we go.
She's beautiful.
Go into town. Get yourself one.
Fuck the shit out of you, even if you are paralyzed.
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 lips.
Don't stay here, man.
Get the fuck out.
You know, you're really drunk on this Mescal shit...
when you swallow the worm
and don't even know you did it.
Last round of betting. Let's go, maggots.
Are you from Villa Rosa?
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
Bueno.
We go?
What's that?
Do you want to go upstairs?
No. No, I'm just looking around.
I just came in... Yeah!
I'd like to go upstairs.
I'd like to.
Good. Then come.
Let's do it.
What's your name?
Maria Elena.
Maria Elena?
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 feel anything.
I was paralyzed in the war.
Vietnam?
Yes.
You let me see?
No.
Doesn't move.
I can't.
Oh, yes.
It's no good.
Yes, let me see.
No. Look, please...
the spine was severed.
I have no movement, no feeling.
There's nothing down here at all.
Nothing happens.
O.K.
We're going to have a good time.
It's going to be O.K.
- You like? - Yes.
Hey, man, Kovic. How was it?
# Ai yi yi yi ##
Did you get one? Did you get two?
Look out!
Banzai, motherfucker!
She loves you, right, tiger?
Thanks a lot. It was great.
Just remember, keep one hand on her tits
and the other hand on your wallet.
Paradise! Right, man?
Whoo!
Can I see this?
I'll rip your fucking eye out and skull-fuck you, motherfucker.
You ever been skull-fucked? You ever been skull-fucked?
Yeah, I'll do it, man. I'll do it, motherfucker.
It don't mean a fucking thing.
I'll be here tomorrow.
You couldn't keep me away with a baseball bat.
I'll be here for sure.
Vietnam.
So...
we get married today, no?
Oh, yeah, yeah. That would be great.
Yeah.
Hi.
Want to fuck me? Huh?
I'll give you a blow job.
Hey, mister, you want me?
60 pesos.
Let's go.
Aah!
"Dear Mr. And Mrs. Wilson...
"I don't... I don't know how to tell you this.
"I knew your son in Vietnam.
He was, uh..."
I'm going to kill that fucking guy.
I got him once. I'll kill him now.
You'll see.
I'm serious.
Your body.
I'm just going to fucking kill him.
Imas!
I'll fucking kill you!
I'll kill you, bitch!
You can't talk to me like that!
Hey! Charlie!
Get out! Get out!
The bitch thinks it's funny I can't move my dick!
Fuck her.
I'll kill you, bitch!
Fuck all you Mexican motherfuckers!
Imaricon!
You don't like it, get out!
Fuck you!
Hey! Don't touch my friend.
Don't you touch me!
Get the hell out!
Don't come back no more.
I wouldn't be here if it weren't for that fucking war!
Fuck you! Fuck all of you!
You sure you told him the right place, man?
I told him fucking Villa Rosa!
Villa Rosa?
Villa Rosa!
Villa Rosa, señor, Villa Rosa.
Beautiful place.
Great whorehouse there, man.
Wait until we get there.
Beautiful women with big tits, small tits...
That goddamned slut. That Mexican scumbag cunt.
I think I saw a sign, Villa Rosa, Charlie,
10 minutes ago.
How far you going, taco head?
¿Que pasa?
Wasn't that turn back there... that sign that said "Villa Rosa"?
Look at the meter! It's rigged!
He's rigged the fucking meter!
Hey, asshole!
Hey, I told you fucking Villa Rosa!
What are we going to do now?
Fuck them.
Yeah, sure. How we going to get out of here?
Fuck them all.
Fuck the whores.
Fuck the cab drivers.
Fuck Mexico.
Fuck Nixon, fuck Vietnam, fuck them all.
But how we going to get out of here?
They made me kill babies, man.
Little gook babies.
You ever have to kill a baby?
Yeah. O.K., come on. We'll get a ride.
We got to get back to the villa.
Fuck you! What do you mean, O.K.?
You ever have to kill a little gook baby?
What the fuck do you know what I did?
I didn't think so. I didn't think so.
You're full of shit.
No, you are.
Leave me the fuck alone!
You're nuts.
The sun is going down.
We got to get out of here.
Don't shit me, Kovic. You never killed a baby.
You never had to.
You never put your soul into that war,
never put your soul on the line.
How the fuck do you know?
Maybe I killed more babies than you did, you fuck!
Maybe I did,
but I don't have to talk about it!
Why not? Why the fuck not?
What are you hiding?
What are you, better than anybody else?
You a hero, maybe?
Got a bunch of fucking medals,
but deep down you're full 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 clean.
Why should 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 killed anybody, anything, did you, Kovic?
Did you?
Ever look at yourself in the fucking mirror?
- Fuck you. - You.
No... you!
Fuck you!
No, fuck you!
Get off me!
Hola, señores. ¿Que pasa aqui?
We need a ride.
O.K.!
Vamanos!
You O.K., man?
Fuck you. You're full of shit.
You don't get it. You don't get it.
You had a town once, Charlie,
and a mother and father.
Things that made sense.
Do you remember things that made sense,
things you could count on,
before we all got so lost?
What are we going to do, Charlie?
What am I going to do, man?
What am I going to do?
Where you from, Wilson?
Venus, Georgia.
Georgia? This is my second tour,
and I haven't seen a Georgia boy get it yet.
Yeah?
Yeah, I know about Wilson.
Sir, I think I might have killed him, sir.
I think I killed him.
I don't think so.
You don't have to worry about them dogs.
They won't bite.
Y'all get away now.
Get on away!
It's all right. It's all right.
They're probably just afraid of that chair.
Mr. Wilson, I'm Ron.
Thanks for, uh, for seeing me.
Any friend of Billy's is a friend of ours.
Well, 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 real nice funeral.
Marine Honor Guard came all the way down from Atlanta
in their fancy uniforms.
Fired their rifles up in the sky.
Thank you.
The drums was beating.
'Course it was nothing like the big war
100 years ago down here.
But there was Billy and Bruce... Bruce Crabtree...
Andy Henderson.
And the Rutledge boy, Lance.
Yeah, Lance. He was a nice boy.
For the life of me,
I still can't quite figure that war out.
Why we had to go all that dang way to fight it
and why's we had to lose so many young men.
Can't figure it out.
But we got a proud tradition here in this town.
Billy's great-grandfather was at the First Bull Run.
My pa was over in France in '18.
Don't forget, you were over in the Pacific in '44.
Guadalcanal.
Is that right?
Yeah. Well, I guess this family'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 all.
There was a letter from a colonel,
I think it was.
Colonel Moore.
That's right, Colonel Moore.
He said there was a bad ambush one night.
Said that Billy distinguished himself in the fighting.
He also told us that Billy died real quick.
That's good that he died quick.
I was his squad leader.
I didn't know Billy real well.
He was new, kind of quiet.
We didn't talk much to new guys.
He was 19, is that right?
That's right, 19.
Only son?
Yes, sir. My only boy.
I think he said he was married
and you were pregnant?
I remember the day he was killed.
Uh... it was a strange day.
We were out on patrol near a beach area...
and, oh, it was very confusing.
There was screaming and firing.
Uh...
It was getting late,
and there were these children, uh...
these babies...
that we killed by mistake.
How awful.
And then it...
got really crazy.
And we had to pull back
because the NVA were coming up on us.
And we got scattered in the dunes.
People were yelling at anything,
firing at anything.
And that was when it... it happened.
I was, uh, confused...
scared.
I raised my rifle three times...
and... shots...
The body fell in the dunes.
God, this is...
this is very difficult for me to say.
We don't have to hear this, Ron.
But I think I was the one that killed 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 violations.
Separate the hippies.
Tonight, I again proudly accept your nomination
for President of the United States.
And let us place ourselves
to win an even greater victory
this November in 1972.
Four more years!
Can I break through your complacency?
Do you have compassion
for the people suffering in this war?
I'm telling you this war is a crime!
I'm not as bitter about my wounds...
Who do you think you are?
Can I help you, sir?
You can't come through.
You can't come through, sir.
I have a pass.
Who are these people?
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 lied to me and my brothers...
Why don't you shut up?
It deceived the people in this country.
It tricked them into going 13,000 miles
to fight a war against a poor peasant people
who have a proud history of resistance,
who have been struggling for their own independence
for 1,000 years... the Vietnamese people.
I can't... I can't find the words to express
how the leadership of this government sickens me.
Now, people say...
people say if you don't love America,
then get the hell out.
Well, I love 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 tell the truth.
They're killing 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 let the people
forget that war!
Four more years!
You're not sweeping it under the rug
because you didn't like the ratings.
This wheelchair,
our wheelchairs,
this steel, our steel
is your Memorial Day on wheels.
We're your Yankee Doodle Dandy come home.
We're your Yankee Doodle Dandy.
Let's reject any philosophy
that would make us a divided people of America.
Stop the bombing!
Stop the war!
Stop the bombing!
Stop the war!
Stop the bombing! Stop the war!
Some sort of scuffle
has broken out on the convention floor,
disabled veterans protesting the Vietnam War.
We'll try to get down there.
Why are they gassing us in the parking lot?
Why are they fighting us?
Because it's a lie.
The truth is
they've killed a generation of young men.
They have sacrificed
a whole 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,
let'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 should've died over there, you traitor.
I don't have balance.
Give me your hands!
O.K., I'll go with you!
I'm not under arrest.
I don't have to...
Hey, take it easy!
Get your hands behind you!
I'm paralyzed!
Get those cameras out of here!
Hey!
I'm paralyzed!
Get in the fucking car!
Hey!
My chair!
My ch...
Stop it!
Tactical line!
Advance and disperse the crowd!
The whole world'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.
Anyplace else 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'Malley's gassed real bad,
and Piscatelli'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 clearing the park!
They've arrested like 30 people...
O.K., O.K., listen up!
Listen up. Hey, hey, hey!
We're going to take the hall back.
You hear?
We're going to the gate,
we're gonna take the motherfucking hall back.
Fall 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 politics of the few,
by the few, and for the few.
We dedicate ourselves to the notion
this is a government of the people,
by the people, and for all the people,
black, brown, red, yellow, white, women,
young, old, workers, students.
This is our land in this country.
Ransom, the feminist, she's six minutes over.
I've got the Jackson people
breathing down my neck.
Who follows?
It won't be a problem.
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 long way to get here.
Tell them what it is, Ron!
Come on, Ronnie!
Go get them, man. For Eddie, man.
Ronnie for president!
- Whoo! - Whoo!
The whole world's watching. I love you.
All right, Frankie!
I feel good.
Ronnie for president.
Whoo!
Congratulations.
I love what you're doing.
Clear a path for me, please. Stand back.
Thank you.
I had a dream, Ronnie.
You were speaking to a large crowd,
and you were saying great things.
Our next speaker
is one of our Vietnam veterans
who has something very special to say tonight.
Please!
Please be quiet!
Coming up top.
What will you say tonight, Mr. Kovic?
I'm going to tell the truth.
Any plans for the future?
I guess we'll see.
Mr. Kovic, could you please sign your book?
A young man
who comes from Massapequa, Long Island...
All righty, coming through!
All right, sweetheart. Straight on through.
How does it feel to address the entire country?
Uh, overwhelming...
an honor...
It's been a long way for us...
the vets... uh...
Just lately I've felt like I'm home.
You know?
Like, uh, maybe we're home.
Welcome home, Ronnie!
Go get them, Ron!