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 honour, 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 any more, 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 paraIysed, 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 practised 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 any more.
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 neighbourhood.
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!
No, not with the catheter.
- For God's sake - - - Penis!
EIi, I can't stand it any more.
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 paraIysed.
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 DuIce?
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 paraIysed 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, se?or, 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, se?ores. Que pasa aqui?
We need a ride.
O.K.!
iVamonos!
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 Honour 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 any more.
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 honour 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 paraIysed!
Get those cameras out of here!
Hey!
I'm paraIysed!
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 honour...
It's been a Iong way for us - -
the vets - - uh...
Just IateIy I've feIt Iike I'm home.
You know?
Like, uh, maybe we're home.
WeIcome home, Ronnie!
Go get them, Ron!