It was a long time ago.
Sometimes I can still hear their voices
across Sally's woods.
There was Billy, Steve, Tommy,
and the tall kid from down the street... Joey.
Yeah, it was Joey Walsh.
My best friend was Timmy Burns
who lived two blocks away from me.
We turned the woods into a battlefield
and dreamed that someday we would 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!
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'clock, 4 o'clock rock ♪
♪ 5, 6, 7 o'clock ♪
♪ 8 o'clock rock ♪
♪ 9, 10, 11 o'clock, 12 o'clock rock ♪
♪ We're gonna rock around the clock tonight ♪
♪ Put your glad rags on ♪
♪ And join me, hon ♪
♪ We'll have some fun when the clock strikes 1:00 ♪
♪ We're gonna rock around the clock tonight ♪
Donna!
Donna, come back here!
Get out of the way!
Hey, you boys! Stop that!
♪ When the band slows down ♪
♪ We're gonna yell for more ♪
♪ We're gonna rock around the clock tonight # ♪
Donna! Donna!
Stevie Boyer just gave Mary Barnett a ring.
Can you believe 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 soldiers!
Happy birthday, Ronnie Kovic.
For me?
Yes. Open it.
That's really nice, Donna.
Say thank you, Ronnie.
Thanks, Donna, but you didn't have to.
Going to the woods tonight?
They'll have fireworks there.
Should be a real blast.
Yeah, O.K.
What is it? Open it.
Leave him alone.
Beautiful.
Hey, it's the real thing, Ronnie.
Feel that.
Just like Mickey Mantle, Ronnie.
Ain't he a 4th of July firecracker
in that hat?
Yeah. He's my little Yankee Doodle boy.
Hey, get it! Get it!
Come on!
Let's go!
Did you like it?
I don't know.
Hey, look 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, all right!
Tommy! Ronnie! Come on!
You're going to miss it!
Michelle! Barbara!
You've got to see this!
Not as a call to bear arms,
though arms we need,
but a call to bear the burden
of a long twilight struggle,
a struggle against the common enemies of man...
tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.
You'll get a licking if you're late!
In the long history of the world,
only a few generations have been granted the role
of defending freedom...
Look, President Kennedy, Daddy.
That's right.
He's so handsome.
I do not shrink from this responsibility,
I welcome it.
Let the word go forth from this time and place
that the torch has been passed
to a new generation of Americans
born in this century.
Let every nation know
that we shall pay any price,
bear any burden,
support any friend, oppose any foe
to assure the survival
and the success of liberty.
I had a dream, Ronnie, the other night,
and you were speaking to a large crowd
just like him.
Just like him.
And you were saying great things.
And so, my fellow 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!
All right, hit the ropes!
Go, go, go!
Hand over hand over hand!
Get those legs off those ropes!
Come on, ladies, let's come down!
Let's come down!
That rope is like life!
You grab it and hang onto it! Next!
I want you to kill!
You hear me?
Yes, sir!
Kill!
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, ladies! 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 table, please.
No, Tommy. After supper.
Dad?
Yeah?
Can I come with you?
There's the next conference champion.
Sorry I'm late, 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 lose... in school, in sports, in life...
as long as you do your best,
that's what matters to God.
Win or lose, we still love him.
Can I go to my room?
Yeah, sure.
Thank you, God, for this food.
In the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost, amen.
Daddy, Jimmy took my doll!
I'll get the doll.
I hate his guts!
Just go to bed.
I didn't take anything!
Where's your sister's doll?
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 allow Playboy magazine in this house.
Stevie gave it to me.
You have filthy, impure thoughts!
God's going to punish you.
I haven't even looked at it yet, all right?
Go to confession. I want you to tell Father McKenna.
I don't want to see this filthy 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 explosion!
Come on, Ronnie!
No messing around!
You're great, Ronnie! You're great, Ronnie!
Stay with him!
Come on down! All right!
O.K. Get off the mat.
You're going to get...
Get him! Get him! Get him! Get him!
Reversal. 2 points!
All right!
Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!
Ohh, you!
One, red! You're both up.
All right, fresh start. Fresh start.
Stand up. Don't let him get you!
Pull him out! All right!
Watch those legs. Watch him!
Get him down! Don't let 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, left.
Left, right, left.
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 principal Mr. Richards
and other members of the faculty
to tell you a little bit about the Marine Corps.
First off, young men,
let's get one thing straight.
Not everybody becomes United States Marines.
We want the best,
and we'll 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 challenge...
if you want to try something difficult...
if you want to try to achieve the impossible...
you try 13 weeks of hell
at Parris Island, South Carolina,
and you'll find out if you got what it takes.
You'll find out if you really are a man,
then the Marines may be what you're looking for.
Tarawa...
Iwo Jima...
Belleau Wood...
the Frozen Chosan Reservoir.
First to fight. We have never lost a war.
We have always come when our country's called us.
Now, Sergeant Bowers and I
would like 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.
Billy Vorsovich, sir.
When would I get to wear a uniform like 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 school at Adelphi.
He said there will be a war in... what is it?
Vietnam.
The Marines will be the first in,
and it won't last long.
So if we don't sign up soon, we'll miss it.
I've already decided. I'm going in.
Really?
Just like 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 like our dads.
Think about what you're doing.
It could be dangerous over there.
You could get yourself killed.
Where are you going, squirrel head? College?
I want to do something with my life.
I can get a degree in Business Administration.
You don't need to serve your country?
Don't you care about anybody but yourself?
Better dead than red.
They got missiles pointed at us everywhere. ICBMs.
Coming in all around us.
Cuba now. 90 miles away.
They're taking over.
When will we stop them?
You can't stop them by yourself.
Communism is moving in everywhere.
Where, Ronnie? I don't see them.
They're not here in Massapequa,
so I'll just take care of number one.
That's right. Me... Stevie, number one.
Someone's got to stay with the women and children
while the men go do the fighting.
All I'm saying is, think about it.
Think about it, Ronnie.
Stevie, who are you taking to the prom?
Wendy Daniels.
Wendy Daniels?
He got desperate.
Well, 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 girl 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 motel?
'Cause I'd like to get in on that.
Ronnie, would 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 wonderful.
I'm going to boot camp soon.
I joined for four years,
so I go to Vietnam,
probably on the front line.
Really?
I'll see a lot of action.
Wow.
That's neat.
Heard you got into that school.
The letter?
Yeah.
Yeah, Syracuse.
It's going to be really hard.
Could I... Could I talk to you in private?
Oh, yeah. Sure.
I've been meaning to call 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 told me
that you were taking some girl from Lake Ronkonkoma.
Yeah. No, no.
No?
No. I don't have time for that stuff.
There's a lot of things to take care of
before you go in the Marines.
I didn't even know how much stuff.
Maybe I'll see you before I leave, O.K.?
♪ Soldier boy ♪
♪ Oh, my little soldier boy ♪
♪ I'll be true to you ♪
♪ You were my first love ♪
♪ And you'll be my last love ♪
♪ I will never make you blue ♪
♪ I'll be true to you ♪
♪ In this whole world ♪
♪ You can love but one girl ♪
I told you I love you.
You promised.
♪ Let me be that one girl ♪
♪ For I'll be true to you # ♪
The batter is Mickey Mantle.
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 long drive deep to center field!
It is going, going!
It is gone into the bleachers,
455 feet away
for Mickey's 491st home run!
How about that?
The crowd is on its feet,
giving Mickey a standing ovation.
♪ And rattle your walls ♪
♪ For the times, they are a-changin' ♪
♪ Come, senators and congressmen ♪
♪ Please heed the call ♪
♪ Don't stand in the doorway ♪
♪ Don't lock up the hall ♪
♪ For the times, they are a-changin' # ♪
There's absolutely no question.
The First Cavalry Division
is the latest concept in mobile warfare.
One division is worth
21/2 Russian and 6 Chinese divisions.
How well will the individual soldier
stand up here in Vietnam?
What do you think, Dad, about that?
I don't know.
13,000 miles...
that's a long way to go to fight a war.
They fought the French and the Japanese
for 30 years.
Can they be weeded out?
Anything that lives in a cave
can be weeded out.
I just hope they send you to Europe or Korea or...
They can't.
Someplace safe.
Every Marine has a tour of duty there.
It's not like the Army.
What's wrong with you?
You served. Uncle Bob served.
I know, Ronnie. I know.
Remember what President Kennedy said?
There won't be an America anymore
unless people are willing to sacrifice.
I love my country.
I know.
And you're right, Ronnie.
You're doing the right thing.
Communism has to be stopped.
It's God's will you go.
We're proud of you.
Be careful, that's all.
Up there in Hanoi,
they don't allow magazines, newspapers, and televisions
to cast doubts on the military 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'll die there if I have to.
The attitude of people 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 wouldn't be here
if we didn't think so.
Sometimes, God, I'm so confused.
Sometimes I think I'd just...
like to stay here in Massapequa
and never leave...
but I got to go.
Just help me, Jesus.
Help me to make the right decision.
Please, dear God.
Ron.
Ronnie, what happened to you?
Ronnie.
What...
Oh, Jeez.
Donna.
Ronnie.
Will you dance with me?
Oh, yes.
Yeah, sure.
♪ Moon River ♪
♪ Wider than a mile ♪
♪ I'm crossing you in style ♪
♪ Someday ♪
♪ Oh, dreammaker ♪
♪ You heartbreaker ♪
♪ Wherever you're goin' ♪
♪ I'm goin' your way ♪
♪ Two drifters ♪
♪ Off to see the world ♪
♪ There's such a lot of world ♪
♪ To see ♪
♪ We're after the same... # ♪
2-Alpha, 2-Alpha, this is 6, over.
6, 6, 2-Actual, over.
2-Actual, 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-Actual.
Sit Rep as follows...
two set in on the beach.
The tracks are moving this way.
Sounds like beaucoup gooks in there.
I'm finally going to see one.
Relax, you'll be all right.
Where you from, Wilson?
First Battalion, Ninth Motor "T."
The Sergeant Major said the grunts needed replacements,
so they took me out of battalion supply.
Where are you from in the world?
Oh, Venus, Georgia.
This is my second tour.
I haven't seen a Georgia boy get hurt yet.
You'll be all right.
Echo-6, Echo-6, Snake 1-9er...
All right.
Echo-1's taking incoming northwest edge of the ville.
We got gooks moving this way.
Look out there, Sergeant.
Can you see them?
Right there. You see them?
They got rifles.
Can you see the rifles?
Right there. You see them?
Can you see the rifles?
Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
Pass the word.
When I give the order,
I want to light up this ville
like a motherfucking Christmas tree.
This time I think we got them! Move out.
Pass the word! Fire on command!
Wilson, come with me.
Cover that big hooch!
Fire on my command! Pass the word!
Corporal, 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.
Possible accidental discharge, sir.
We better get a sweep team in there.
Take five men. Tell me how many we got.
Yes, sir.
Motherfucker!
Baldy on me!
Brooks! Martinez! On me!
Wilson! Wilson, on me!
2-alpha, moving on the ville 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 ville, Battery 6.
Victor, Tango in effect.
How copy? Over.
Baldy! Baldy!
Lai dai! Lai dai!
Get him out! Get him out!
Come on, Baldy, come on.
Check it out over there! Everything out!
Baldy, get everything out!
Baldy! There! Check it out!
Echo-2, Alpha.
Echo-2, send your Sit Rep. Over.
Lai dai! Lai dai!
Get him out!
Check those hooches and clear 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-Actual-2, better get down here quick,
and bring the corpsmen.
We got beaucoup wounded. Civilians.
Martinez, help me!
We wasted them.
Motherfucker! We wasted them!
Oh!
Destroy.
Where are the rifles?
There ain't no fucking rifles.
Damn it.
Jesus fucking Christ!
Well, help him then!
Help him! Help him! Help him!
Oh, motherfuck...
I want you to help him.
Forgive us.
Help me! Somebody help me!
6, 6, 2-Actual.
Request emergency medevac.
We got a lot of friendly 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 ville! Move out!
Get out! Move out!
That's a direct order!
I want you out that door!
It wasn't your fault, goddamn it!
They got in the goddamned way!
Get off the deck!
We got gooks in the ville!
The baby!
Get back to the dune!
The baby!
No! Move out! Let's move!
Kovic, move!
Move out!
Move! Move!
The ville is going to blow!
Aah!
Red! Abbot!
Aah!
Wilson!
Wilson's hit!
What happened?
Where's First Platoon?
For God's sake, Corpsman!
Where's my "A" gunner?
Sergeant Kovic here to see you, sir.
Stand easy, sergeant.
Yeah, Kovic, the lieutenant told 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 villagers...
Yeah. I know about the villagers, Sergeant.
They... the villagers...
It was very, very unfortunate.
The enemy used the villagers as cover.
Yes, sir.
They popped up, started firing.
We were running back, sir.
It was real glary.
Very confusing,
and that's when it happened, sir.
What happened?
Sir, that was when Wilson was killed, sir.
Yeah, I know about Wilson.
Sir, see...
he was the last one out,
and that's when it happened, sir.
Sir, I think I might...
I might have killed him, sir.
I don't think so.
He was coming up over the dune.
I think I might have killed him.
It's hard.
I was out a couple of weeks ago.
Sometimes it's... very hard to tell what's happening.
Yes, sir.
But, sir, I think I killed Wilson.
I don't think so, Kovic.
But, sir, I want you to know that...
Don't talk like that!
Don't tell me this shit.
I'll take your head off. Is that clear?
Yes, sir.
That clear?
Yes, sir!
All right.
Carry on.
X.O. Ought to court-martial his ass.
Sergeant K.
Get some sugar in the blood.
Ain't no thing, dog.
Ain't nothing but a thing, baby.
It's so hot out here, I want to kill some motherfucking gooks.
Dog, you're sounding like a bitch, man.
Ain't nothing but a thing.
Nothing but a thing.
It's so hot out in this motherfucker,
this must be hell!
Or purgatory.
Where's the motherfucking devil at?
Take cover!
Snake 1-9er airborne,
Be advised machine guns
now approaching at your 12. Over.
No. No, people!
Move forward! Move forward!
Gun up! Gun up!
2! 2! 2-Alpha! Contact! Contact!
Heavy incoming from both treelines. Over.
Uhh!
Son of a bitch!
Aah!
Fuck, man!
Uhh.
Aah!
Fuck!
Son of a bitch!
2-Actual!
Heavy incoming from the ville!
I'm in trouble!
2, 2, Charlie,
be advised there's more of them.
We see two squads moving in
from the left treeline.
Aah!
I'm in trouble out here!
2, Echo-6! Get out of that ville!
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 hold this bitch!
Hold it, goddamn it! Pull up! Pull 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 mils of happy juice
until he crashes out.
Just get him to sleep.
Open table!
Who's got a hot one?
What do we have?
His kidney and liver are gone.
We better just kiss this one goodbye.
All right, take off.
There's something wrong with me.
Code blue! Code blue!
Let's go! He's code blue!
Code blue! Code blue!
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. Clear!
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 tell them they've got to operate.
There's something wrong with me.
The doctors are real busy.
There's a lot of wounded here.
There's no time for anything
except trying to stay alive.
You got to try and stay alive. O. K?
Try and stay alive.
I've come to give you your last rites.
Are you ready?
I'm ready, Father.
I am the resurrection and the life.
He that believeth in me,
though he were dead, yet shall he live.
We brought nothing into this world,
and it's certain we can take nothing out.
The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
♪ I got sunshine ♪
♪ On a cloudy day ♪
♪ And when it's cold outside ♪
♪ I got the month of May # ♪
Eddie, I need some help in room 13.
Give me a second, man.
His catheter's plugging 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 tell you not to do that to him
in the A.M.?
Take the needle out of my arm.
Good morning, Nurse Washington.
How are you today?
You up bright and early today.
Everybody up!
Good morning, gentlemen.
Let's rise and shine.
Peña!
Can I have some Aspirin?
I ain't feeling well.
I'd like some Aspirin.
Hmm. I'll get to you.
Leon! How you doing today?
Look at this shit.
Mm-hmm!
My catheter's clogged.
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'll be fine.
Up and at 'em! Frankie's here!
Hey, Frankie. What's up?
Hopkins, come on, wake up.
All you guys, 6:00 special.
Fuck you.
Fenaday, I'm looking at you.
Keep looking.
My man Kovic. Up already?
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 bloated.
Just take it easy.
Eddie going to take care of all you boys.
It's like 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 problem is.
Your piss bag's cloudy, too.
You been drinking enough water?
You gots to flush 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 chill out.
I'm not fucking with you.
I'm not fucking with you, man.
My man Kovic!
Mr. 4th of July.
Politicians, protesters, and police
are all here in Chicago
for the 1968 Presidential Election.
Chicago police tonight charged the crowd...
Gook-lovers. 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 Alice in Wonderland quality about it.
Things are getting curiouser and curiouser.
Everywhere you go, there's a sign reminding you...
Love it or leave it, you fucking bastards!
Hey, you ready, Kovic?
They're burning the flag.
They're fucking burning the American flag.
Come on. Let's look alive.
Looking good. Looking good.
Come on, Kovic. Real 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. Real nice.
♪ This'll be the day that I die # ♪
We want to make one thing
very clear to you, Ron.
The possibility of your ever walking is minimal.
Almost impossible.
You're a T-6, paralyzed from the midchest down.
Probably you'll be in a wheelchair
for the rest of your life.
Do you understand what I'm saying?
Well, doctor, will...
Hmm?
Will I ever be able to, uh...
to have children?
No.
No, but we have a very good psychologist here.
He's helped...
Oh, I'll walk again. I know I'll walk again.
Let me tell you something.
You will never walk again.
Let's go.
Uhh!
You're walking good in these things.
What am I looking like, 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, Willie.
It ain't about burning the flag 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 revolution going on.
If you ain't part of the solution,
then you's part of the problem.
Jesus Christ, Willie. Just get my chair for me.
You got to watch for her.
Oh, man.
Some good weed.
Take the bra off.
I'll 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 could make me feel this way ♪
♪ My girl ♪
♪ Talking 'bout my girl ♪
♪ My girl # ♪
Good.
Easy now.
Very good.
Hey, Doc...
it's really beautiful up here.
Ha ha ha!
I'm walking out of here, guys.
You'll see. Right, Willie?
Right.
Easy.
Oh... I'm all right. I'm all 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.
All right!
Way to go, Kovic.
Amazing, huh?
Nothing from the chest down.
It can be done. It can be done.
Semper fi, motherfucker!
All right!
All right, Harry, man.
Keep it going. Let's go!
Let's go. Let's go.
Let's go.
Aah!
Oh!
Willie!
I think I need...
Oh! Oh.
Get him up. Somebody...
Something snapped. It's my neck.
All 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 relax. Harry! Let's go!
Oh, fuck.
Shit. Fuck.
Washington!
Washington, where the fuck were you?
I've been pushing this call button
and staring at my own vomit for two hours.
What's the matter with you fucking people?
I'm laying in my own shit.
Why don't you change the sheets?
This goddamned fucking place.
I need a bath.
Don't be raising your voice to me!
You watch your mouth.
Why don't you help me?
What's the matter with you?
I don't feel right.
I need to see the doctor now!
He's not available now.
I want to see him now!
He's always too busy.
What's eating you now?
You going off the deep end?
We'll amputate that leg,
you go on like this.
Don't put your hands on me.
I want to be treated like 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 slum.
We take that leg,
you're out in two weeks.
I want my leg.
Why? You can't feel it.
It's my leg. I want my leg.
Can't you understand that?
I want to be treated like a human being.
I fought for my country.
I'm a Vietnam veteran!
I fought for my country!
Shut the fuck up!
I should be treated decent!
Vietnam don't mean nothing to me, man,
or any of these other people. 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, look!
Oh, fuck!
It's off.
It ain't going to work.
Start!
Washington, get the doctor.
Wait a minute.
OK. Yeah. All right. I will.
How you doing, Eddie?
Let's see what's wrong with this.
They tell me if we don't get this pump working,
they'll cut my leg off. I want my leg.
Do we have another pump?
It's the only 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 really too bad.
It's not fair.
I've tried hard to keep this leg.
I've been strapped in this bed for four months
so I could keep this leg.
Maybe I can rig up a substitute.
I'll look in the basement and see what we got.
You're coming back?
Soon.
Let go, Ron. Let go.
We really did try to help Mr. Kovic.
Aah!
Susanne, he's here.
Ronnie's home.
O.K. Out on 3.
All right, 1...
2...
3.
Oh, that's great.
Did you paint the house, Dad?
Yeah. I painted it.
Yellow. It looks good.
It looks pretty good.
I got that. That's all right. Let's go.
The kids have been talking 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 looks so different.
Major.
Hey, Major.
Major, you know who this is?
Yeah.
You know who this is?
He's gotten old, huh?
Just like your old man.
Hey, Tommy.
Good to see you.
Look at that hair.
Dad lets you look like 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, look at you.
Timmy.
That's Jackie.
Jackie?
I wanted to visit you in the hospital.
How many pull-ups you do, huh?
You know, I did 23... 23 pull-ups.
23 pull... I'm O.K. I'm O.K.
I'm all right.
Ronnie.
Susanne.
Good to have you home.
You didn't tell me she was this beautiful.
She's a woman, huh?
I'm sorry.
That's O.K. I can't feel anything anyway.
I'm only paralyzed.
You look great.
Yeah?
Ronnie.
Mom.
Ronnie.
Hey, Mom.
Oh, look at your hair.
It looks great.
You like it?
Oh, you look beautiful.
Thanks.
It's good to be home.
It's better than seeing me
at that hospital, huh?
It's O.K.
I know.
I'm O.K.
It's good to have you home, Ronnie.
Gee, everybody looks so good.
Everybody looks so good.
I'm going to go inside for a minute.
Mom, wait.
She'll be O.K.
Ronnie, how are you, man? You look good.
Ronnie, you look good.
Welcome home.
It's so good to see you.
Welcome home. Nice to see you.
Look at Harry. You look good.
Welcome home.
Let's go in the house and help.
Come on, Mom. It's all right.
Looks good.
Yeah?
You need some help?
No. I'm O.K., Dad.
Fixed up a bathroom for you, Ronnie.
Put a wider doorway in.
I built a shower for you, too.
You can get in here pretty easy.
Oh, and I put some handles
on the toilet for you.
Ronnie.
Thanks, Dad.
It's really great to be back in my room.
It's good to have you.
It's good to have you, Ronnie.
Come on, I'll show you...
I'll show you some new stuff we got
in the bedroom over here.
My Happauge Boyer's grossed 85 grand last six months.
My competitor's rushing in to build, but I was first.
The people are loyal.
You probably think it's just a hamburger.
A patty's just a piece of meat,
but it can have character.
See that doughnut hole?
Gets 18 patties to the pound instead of 16.
Saves me about $40,000 a year.
That's serious money, Ron.
I plug the hole
with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, spices.
I cover it with a pickle.
They'll never miss a thing.
Give me a good one for Ronnie. Thanks.
Good job. Try this.
You don't find that at McDonald's on Sunrise.
I got a drive-in window, too.
It's Long Island's first.
It's clean, it's cheap, it's fast.
Feed the family for $3.95.
Check out these chicks.
They're wearing those new miniskirts.
It's my idea. It's good for tips.
The customers always come back.
Massapequa's changed. Watch yourself.
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, Bayville,
Valley Stream, man.
I want to turn Boyer's
into a whole Long Island 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 should benefit, Ronnie.
You mean, like partners?
We open a place together?
You got to walk before you run.
I could start you out as a cashier.
Then you could learn the business,
work your way up to be manager,
just like your dad.
I get 1,700 a month from the government.
I'll take my time.
That's charity money. This isn't.
Charity?
Here's your cola.
You got to put the war behind you.
Forget about this chair you're in.
Sometimes, you know, Stevie,
I think people know
you're back from Vietnam,
and their face changes, the eyes...
the voice, the way they look at you.
I know, but people here,
they don't give a shit about the war.
It's just a million miles away. It's all bullshit.
The government sold us a bill of goods.
We got the shit kicked out of us.
What do you mean "we"? You were in college.
It was you who bought that communist bullshit.
Yeah. They were going to take over the world.
Do you remember that?
Finnelli, you, Walsh.
The whole town was devastated.
For what?
For lies?
For bullshit lies?
They burn the flag.
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 lives.
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 children.
I agree with everything you say.
I served my country.
They just want to take from it.
Love it or leave it.
The other side's angry
because we're not winning.
How can we win?
Tommy, what's the matter?
Nothing.
Anybody listening here? Tommy?
What?
Tommy's going to fail English.
He doesn't believe in the war.
What?
He thinks we're doing the wrong thing
over there.
He thinks it's all a mistake.
Mistake? What's this? Spit it out.
You believe 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 longhairs
who take drugs!
That's not the reason.
Have they ever worked?
You want to burn the flag? Huh, Tommy?
What is this?
You want to bring down this country?
Love it or leave it, Tommy.
All they're trying to say, Ronnie,
is they don't want more people
to come back like 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.
Well, look at me.
Look at you, man.
I got to go. I'll see you around, all right?
What's wrong with me, Tommy?
What's wrong with me?
Is there something wrong with me?
I volunteered, Tommy!
You don't know what you're talking about!
Were you there?
You can just love it or leave it, Tommy!
Mom, I can't believe
what Tommy just said to me.
I can't...
I can't believe what Tommy just said to me.
Parade time, Ronnie.
You tell them I'll be right there, all right?
What kind of car is it?
I think it's a Continental.
Continental?
A convertible?
Yeah.
They said it would be.
Coming up in the world.
♪ Would you like to ride ♪
♪ In my beautiful balloon ♪
♪ Would you like to ride ♪
♪ In my beautiful balloon ♪
♪ We could float among the stars together ♪
♪ You and I ♪
♪ For we can fly ♪
♪ We can fly ♪
♪ Up, up and away ♪
♪ In my beautiful ♪
♪ My beautiful ♪
♪ Balloon # ♪
Die!
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. I...
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.
I... 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!