Original subtitles

[dramatic music]

[Ronnie] It was a Iong time ago.

Sometimes I can stiII hear their voices

-across SaiIy's woods. -[kids chanting]

There was BiIIy, Steve, Tommy,

and the taII kid from down the street, Joey.

Yeah, it was Joey WaIsh.

My best friend was Timmy Burns

who Iived two bIocks away from me.

We turned the woods into a battIefieid

and dreamed that someday we wouId become men.

Did you hear it?

What?

Let´s go, Timmy! Let´s go!

Come on, Major!

They´ve got to be somewhere, Ronnie.

Watch out, Ronnie.

You´ve got to stay in the ravine.

Shh.

Shh.

Go, go! Go!

Look, there they are! There they are!

WiPe them out!

[kids screaming]

You´re dead, and you know it!

No, l´m not! No, l´m not!

Ronnie´s dead!

No, l´m not! No, l´m not!

[uPbeat music]

Look at the mayor.

l 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.

Okay. Come here.

And stay out of the way.

What is this?

ls this a firecracker?

What´s the matter with you?

[uPbeat music]

This is boring.

Yeah, l swear, man.

[uPbeat music]

Look, Daddy, the soldiers!

[gun fires]

HaPPy birthday, Ronnie Kovic.

-For me? -Yes. OPen it.

That´s really nice of you, Donna.

Say thank you, Ronnie.

Thanks, Donna, but you didn´t have

to do that for me.

Going to the woods tonight?

They´re gonna have fireworks there.

Should be a real blast.

Yeah, yeah, okay.

What is it? OPen it, will ya?

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!

[fireworks crackling]

-Did you like it? -l don´t know.

l don´t know.

Hey, look how many PushuPs l 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!

Ronnie, you made it!

Yeah, all right!

Tommy! Ronnie, come on!

You´re going to miss it!

Michelle! Barbara!

Come on, you´ve got to see this!

[Kennedy on TV] Not as a caII to bear arms,

though arms we need,

but a caIi to bear the burden

of a Iong twiIight struggIe,

a struggIe against the common enemies of man

tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itseIf.

You´ll get a licking if you´re late!

In the iong history of the worId,

-onIy a few generations -Come on, Jimmy!

-This is it! -have been granted the roIe

of defending freedom...

-ls it him? -Yeah.

Look, President Kennedy, Daddy.

That´s right.

-He´s so handsome. -I do not shrink

from this responsibiIity,

I weIcome it.

Let the word go forth from this time and piace

that the torch has been passed

to a new generation ofAmericans

born in this century.

Let every nation know

that we shaII pay any price,

bear any burden,

support any friend, oppose any foe

to assure the survivai

and the success of Iiberty.

l 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 feIIow Americans,

ask not what your country can do for you,

ask what you can do for your country.

Right! Right, get out!

Get out! Got to get out!

You got to get out!

Hit that switch! Hit the switch!

-[whistle blowing] -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!

l want you to kill!

You hear me?

-Yes, sir! -Kill!

l want that conference chamPionshiP!

Do you want that conference chamPionshiP?

Yes, sir!

[Coach] Get uP! Heads!

Get them uP! Do you hear me?

Get your heads up, ladies! Get your heads uP!

l want that conference chamPionshiP!

Ifyou 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!

Sacrifice, peopie.

[Mrs. Kovic] Susanne, no homework at the table, Please.

No, Tommy. After suPPer.

[Susanne] Dad?

Can l come with you?

There´s the next conference champion.

Sorry, l´m late, Ma.

l got you rice on the stove and there´s fresh fruit in the icebox.

l can´t.

But it´s on your diet, right?

No, l told you, Ma. l 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´re still here. We still love him.

Can l go to my room, Dad?

Yeah, sure.

Thank you, God, for the food on our table.

ln the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost, amen.

Daddy, Jimmy took my doll!

Go to bed, honey.

-l´ll get the doll. -He´s just a little brat

-and l hate his guts! -Just go to bed, honey.

-[Jimmy] You´re a little brat! -l´ll get the doll.

-l didn´t take anything from you! -Where´s your sister´s doll?

-[indistinct chatter] -Jackie? Why is Jackie not in bed?

[Mrs. Kovic] Ronnie.

[Mr. Kovic] Will you please settle down? Come on, go to bed. Settle down!

Where´d you get this?

Mom, what are you doing in my room anyway?

Don´t change the subject.

You know l don´t allow Playboy magazines

-in this house. -Stevie gave it to me.

-l was holding it for-- -You have filthy,

imPure thoughts!

God is going to Punish you.

God´s going to Punish you of this.

l haven´t even looked at it yet, all right?

l want you to go to confession.

l want you to tell Father McKenna. You hear me?

l don´t ever want to see this filthy magazine

in my house again.

Now, take this away!

-What´s going on? -Nothing.

What do you mean, nothing?

-What´s going on? -Nothing, Dad, okay?

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.

l want to see some exPlosion!

[Donna] Come on, Ronnie!

No messing around!

You´re great, Ronnie! You´re great, Ronnie!

Stay with him!

Come on now! All right!

Okay, get off the mat.

You´re going to get...

Get him! Get him!

Get him! Get him!

Reversal. Two Points, all right!

Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!

One, red! You´re both uP one, red.

All right, fresh start. Fresh start.

Stand uP. Don´t let him get you!

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!

Ronnie, Ronnie, Ronnie!

Bridge! Bridge!

You can win! Don´t give uP!

Oh, no!

You okay, son?

Oh, no.

Come on, get uP.

Attention! Forward march!

Left, left.

Left, right, left.

Sit!

Good morning, l 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. Richard

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 lsland, 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.

lwo Jima.

Belleau Wood.

The Frozen Chosin Reservoir.

First to fight. We have never lost a war.

We have always come when our country´s called us.

Now, Sergeant Bowers and l

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.

[boy] Billy Vorsovich, sir.

When would l get to wear a uniform like you?

[man] You make it out of bootcamp.

You´ll be wearing this in 13 weeks.

Go, go, go, Massapequa!

Go, go, go, Massapequa!

Hi, Donna.

Go, go, go, Massapequa!

My brother´s at school at AdelPhi.

And he said that there´s gonna be a big war in Vietnam.

-What is it? -Vietnam.

And he said that the Marines will be the first in,

and it ain´t gonna last long.

That´s right, so if we don´t sign uP soon, we´ll miss it.

l´ve already decided. l´m going in.

-Really? -Just like that?

l´m not waiting. l´m going in now.

Come on, man. You´re crazy.

No, you´re crazy.

Our dads got to go to WWll.

This is our chance to do something,

and be Part of history, guys.

Yeah, just like our dads.

You should think about

what you´re doing, you know, Ronnie?

Come on, it could be dangerous over there.

You could get yourself killed. Do you ever think about that?

Where are you going squirrel head? College?

Well, l want to do something with my life.

l can get a degree in Business Administration.

You don´t think you need to serve your country?

You don´t you care about anybody but yourself?

Better dead than red.

They got missiles Pointed at us everywhere. lCBMs.

They´re coming in all around us.

They´re in Cuba now. 90 miles away.

-They´re taking over world. -When are we gonna stop them?

Ronnie, you ain´t suPerman.

You can´t stoP them all by yourself.

Communism is moving in everywhere.

Oh yeah, sure, where, Ronnie? l don´t see them.

They´re not right here in MassaPequa,

so l´m just gonna take care of number one.

No, that´s right, Jimmy. Me, Stevie, number one.

Stevie, it´s okay.

Someone´s got to stay with the women and children

while the men go do the fighting.

You guys are nuts and l´m getting out of here.

All l´m saying is, you should just think about it.

Think about it, Ronnie.

Hey, Stevie, who are you taking to the prom?

-Wendy Daniels. -Wendy Daniels?

Wendy Daniels?

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.

She´s not from around here.

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 l´d like to get in on that.

Ronnie, would you take this down to section three?

And check the stock for more dog food.

Dog food.

Then finish stacking the Potatoes.

Come on now. Let´s go.

Let´s do some work for a change.

Section three?

-Yeah, right. Section three. -Okay.

[Ronnie] Hey, Donna.

Hi, Ronnie.

Hi, Ronnie.

[girls] Hi, Ronnie.

How are you doing?

l heard that you were going into the Marines.

Yeah, yeah. lt´s better than working at A&P.

That´s great, Ronnie.

That´s wonderful.

l´m going to boot camp soon.

l joined the Marines for four years,

so l go to Vietnam.

They say l´ll Probably go right in the front line.

Really?

l´ll see a lot of action.

-[both] Wow. -That´s neat.

Heard you got into that school with the letter?

Yeah.

Yeah, Syracuse.

lt´s going to be really hard.

Could l talk to you in Private?

Oh, yeah. Sure.

l´ve been meaning to call you.

l was wondering,

are you going with someone to the Prom?

Yeah, l´m going with Jed.

Oh, yeah? That´s great.

l mean, he´s a nice guy, isn´t he, Jed?

Stevie Boyer told me

that you were taking some girl from Lake Ronkonkoma.

Yeah. No, no.

No?

No. l don´t have time for that stuff, you know, going to Prom...

There´s a lot of things to take care of

before you go in the Marines.

l didn´t even know how much stuff.

Maybe l´ll see you before l leave, okay?

Okay.

♪ Soldier boy ♪

♪ Oh, my little soldier boy ♪

♪ l´ll be true to you ♪

♪ You were my first love ♪

♪ And you´ll be my last love ♪

♪ l will never make you blue ♪

♪ l´ll be true to you ♪

♪ ln this whole world ♪

♪ You can love but one girl ♪

♪ Let me be that one girl ♪

♪ For l´ll be true to you ♪

[announcer] The batter is Mickey MantIe.

Mickey has two strikes

and the chance to put the Yankees ahead in this baIi game.

The pitcher gets his sign,

takes his stretch, cbecks the runners.

Here's the pitch.

Mickey swings, and he gets hoId of it!

Tbere's a Iong drive deep to center fieId!

It is going, going!

lt is gone into the bleachers,

455 feet away

for Mickey'5 4915t home run!

How about that?

The crowd i5 on it5 feet,

giving Mickey a 5tanding 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´ ♪

[man on TV] There´5 ab5oIuteIy no que5tion.

The First Cavairy Divi5ion

i5 the iate5t concept in mobiIe warfare.

Andju5t one of tho5e thing5 i5 worth two and a haIf Ru55ian

and as many a5 5ix Chinese divi5ions.

How weII, Coionei, do you think the individuaI

American 5oIdier 5tand up here in Vietnam?

What do you think, Dad, about that?

l don´t know. 13,000 miles.

That´s a long way to go to fight a war.

But CoIoneI, the5e peopie, the Viet Cong, they fought the French

and the Japane5e for 3O year5.

Do you reaiIy think they can be weeded out?

I think anything that Iives in a cave can be weeded out.

l just hope they send you to Europe or Korea

-or somePlace safe. -They can´t.

Every Marine has a tour of duty over there.

lt´s not like the Army.

What´s the matter with you anyway?

You served, Uncle Bob served.

l know, Ronnie. l know.

Don´t you remember what President Kennedy said?

There´s not gonna be an America anymore

unless PeoPle are willing to sacrifice.

l love my country, Dad.

[Mr. Kovic] l know, Ronnie. l know.

[Mrs. Kovic] You´re right, Ronnie.

You´re doing the right thing.

Communism has to be stoPPed.

lt´s God´s will you go.

We´re proud of you.

Be careful, that´s all.

Up there in Hanoi,

tbey don´t aIiow magazine5, newspaper5, and teIevi5ions

to cast doubts on the miiitary 5y5tem.

Don´t you know what it means to me being a Marine, Dad?

Ever since l was a kid, l´ve wanted this.

Wanted to serve my country.

And l want to go.

l want to go to Vietnam,

and l´ll die there if l have to.

The attitude ofpeopie on the home front

i5 very important in thi5 war.

Not a nice night for the Prom.

The South Vietname5e government is a viabie poIiticaI

enemy that can 5tand up to the Nortb.

We wouIdn´t be here now

if we didn´t think so, wouId we?

Sometimes, God, l´m so confused.

Sometimes l think l´d just

like to stay here in MassaPequa

and never leave.

But l got to go.

Just helP me, Jesus.

HelP me to make the right decision.

Please, dear God.

Ron.

Hey, Ronnie, what haPPened to you?

Ronnie.

Oh, jeez.

-Donna. -Ronnie.

Will you dance with me?

Oh, yes.

Yeah, sure.

♪ Moon River ♪

♪ Wider than a mile ♪

♪ l´m crossing you in style ♪

♪ Someday ♪

♪ Oh, dream maker ♪

♪ You heartbreaker ♪

♪ Wherever you´re goin´ ♪

♪ l´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 ♪

[man on radio] 2-AIpha, 2-AIpha, this i5 6, over.

[man 2] 6, 6, 2-Actual, over.

2-Actuai, thi5 i5 6. That´5 a roger.

You do bave beaucoup gooks, and they´re coming at you

becau5e Echo-1´5 pu5hing them. Over.

6, 6, 2-Actual.

Sit reP as follows.

Two set in on the beach

and the tracks are moving this way, over.

Sounds like beaucouP gooks in there.

l got a feeling l´m finally going to see one.

Relax, you´ll be all right.

Where you from, Wilson?

First Battalion, Ninth Motor ´´T.´´

Mostly around Da Nang. 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. l haven´t seen a Georgia boy get hurt yet.

[Wilson] Yeah?

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?

You see them?

Can you see the rifles?

Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

Pass the word.

When l give the order,

l want to light up this hill like a motherfucking Christmas tree.

l think we got them, sir.

This time l think we fucking got them!

-Yes, sir. -Move out.

Pass the word! Fire on my command!

Wilson, come with me.

Cover that big hooch!

Fire on my command! Pass the word!

CorPoral, start ranking. Fire on my command!

-Fire on my command! -[guns fire]

Cease fire!

Cease fire, you asshole.

What the fuck are you doing?

Cease fire!

What haPPened?

Cease-fire, you asshole.

Goddammit. l want to know what haPPened!

l don´t know, sir.

Possible accidental discharge, sir.

-[indistinct chatter on radio] -We better get a sweeP team in there.

Take five men, get in there, tell me how many we got.

-Move, move. -Yes, sir.

All right, 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!

Iron hand for fire mi55ion.

Stand by. Grid 1-5-6-3-7-9er.

Direction 5-866.

Gook5 in the viIie, Battery 6.

Victor, Tango in effect. Copy, over.

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, Baldy, there! Check it out!

Echo-2, Aipha.

Echo-2, send your sit rep. Over.

Lai dai! Lai dai!

Lai dai! Lai dai!

Get him out!

Get him out!

Check tbo5e hooches and cIearASAp.

We´ve got a fire mi55ion inbound. Over.

Oh, my God.

We didn´t do this, did we?

-Oh, my God. -Oh, 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!

Where are the rifles?

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!

Fucking Christ. Shit!

Get up and help him.

l 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.

[man on radio] Get out of there!

Leave tho5e wounded! You got arty inbound!

Get out! Get out!

Get back to the dunes! Get back to the dunes!

We got gooks in the ville! l want you moving out of here!

Get out! Move out!

That´s a direct order!

l want you out that door!

l want you out that fucking door!

lt wasn´t your fault, goddamn it!

They got in the goddamn way!

Kovic, get your fucking ass off the deck! We gotta move!

We got gooks in the villa!

-[Ronnie] The baby! -Move out!

-Get back to the dune! -The baby!

No! Move out now!

Let´s move! Kovic, move!

Move out! Get the fuck out!

Move out! Move, move!

The ville is going to blow!

[guns fire]

-[baby crying] -Get back! Fall back!

[shouts indistinctly]

Run! Run, Robbie!

[guns fire]

[man] Wilson! Wilson´s hit!

[man 2] Right now, l need two men to helP with the wounded!

What haPPened?

[man 3] 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. lt was Pretty bad.

Ran into a few of them, didn´t you?

Yes, sir.

You want to see me about something, Sergeant?

Yes, sir.

Like l said to the caPtain, sir,

it was a very confusing day.

The villagers--

Yeah, l know about the villagers, Sergeant.

The villagers...

lt was very, very unfortunate.

The enemy used the villagers as cover?

Yes, sir.

They PoPPed uP, started firing.

We were running back, sir.

lt was real glary.

Very confusing,

and that´s when it hapPened, sir.

What haPPened?

Sir, that was when Wilson was killed, sir.

Yeah, l know about Wilson.

Sir, see, he was the last one out,

and that´s when it hapPened, sir.

Sir, l think l might have killed him, sir.

l don´t think so.

He was coming uP over the dune. lt was very confusing.

l think l might have killed him.

lt´s hard.

l was out a couPle of weeks ago.

Sometimes it´s very hard to tell what´s haPPening.

Yes, sir.

But, sir, l think l killed Wilson.

l don´t think so, Kovic.

But, sir, l want you to know that--

Don´t you talk like that!

l don´t need anybody coming here and telling me this shit.

l´ll take your head off. ls that clear?

Yes, sir.

-ls that clear? -Yes, sir!

All right. Carry on.

XO ought to court-martial his ass.

Sergeant K.

[choPPer engine roars]

[man] Get some sugar in the blood.

Ain´t no thing, dog.

Ain´t nothing but a thing, baby.

Shit, it´s so hot out here,

l wanna kill some motherfucking gooks.

[man 2] Dog, you´re sounding like a bitch, man.

[man 1] Ain´t nothing but a thing, baby.

Nothing but a thing.

lt´s so hot out in this motherfucker,

this must be hell

or Purgatory.

Where´s the motherfucking devil at?

[gun fires]

lncoming. Get to cover.

Take cover! Take cover!

Snake 1-9er airborne,

Be advi5ed, machine gun5 now approaching at your 12. Over.

No. No, PeoPle!

Move forward! Move forward!

Gun uP! Gun uP!

2-Aipha! Contact, contact!

Heavy incoming from both treeIine5. Over.

Son of a bitch!

Fuck, man!

[guns fire]

Fuck!

Son of a bitch!

2-Actual! Heavy incoming from the ville!

l´m in trouble out here!

2, 2, CbarIie,

be advised tbere´5 more of them.

We see two 5quad5 moving in from the Ieft treeIine.

[gun fires]

l´m in trouble out here!

l´m in trouble out here!

2, Echo-6! Get out of that viIIe!

Get out of tbat viIie!

They´re going to cut you off! Get out!

-l need everything you got! -[indistinct radio chatter]

Die, motherfucker!

We´re going down! We´re going down!

I can´t hoId this bitch!

HoId it, goddamn it!

puII up! puII up!

Goddamn it!

Goddamn it!

[gun fires]

CorPsmen.

CorPsmen, corPsmen.

[kid´s voice] Ronnie´5 dead! Ronnie´5 dead!

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. -You got it.

OPen table! Who´s got a hot one?

What do we got over here?

His kidney and liver are gone. He´s leaking like a sieve.

We better just kiss this one goodbye.

All right, take it 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!

Jesus, give me the shock defibs!

Come on, Marine. Stay with me now.

We´re going to jump-start you. Clear!

Where´s the Priest? Get me a Priest.

Breathe! Breathe!

Breathe!

Breathe!

-[speaking indistinctly] -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 right now.

There´s a lot of wounded here today.

There´s no time for anything

excePt trying to stay alive.

So you got to try and stay alive, okay? You hear me?

Try and stay alive.

l´ve come to give you your last rites.

Are you ready?

l´m ready, Father.

l 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.

♪ l got sunshine ♪

♪ On a cloudy day ♪

♪ And when it´s cold outside ♪

♪ l got the month of May ♪

Hey, Eddie, l need some helP in room 13.

Give me a second, man.

His catheter´s Plugging uP.

lt´s backing uP into his kidney.

[Eddie] l said l´d be there when l´ll be there.

Give me a fucking break.

Man, what´s going on?

Nothing, man.

You ain´t suPPosed to be having this.

Man, what the fuck?

Didn´t l tell you not to be doing that shit

to him in the A.M.?

-Come on, man. -Take the needle out of my arm. Come on.

Good morning, Nurse Washington.

How are you today?

You´re uP bright and early today.

Everybody uP!

Good morning, gentlemen.

Let´s rise and shine.

-Pena! -Can l have some AsPirin?

l ain´t feeling well.

Hmm. l´ll get to you.

Leon! How you doing today?

Look at this shit.

My catheter´s clogged.

Give it a minute.

l swear to god they´re getting bigger every fucking day.

You don´t bother them,

they ain´t going to bother you.

That´s why l´m feeding him.

You just keeP on feeding him,

and everything´ll be just fine.

UP and at ´em! UP and at ´em! Frankie´s here!

Hey, Frankie. What´s uP?

HoPkins, come on, come on, wake uP.

All you guys, 6:00 sPecial.

-Fuck you. -Fenaday, l´m looking at you.

KeeP looking, asshole.

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 ♪

l think my stomach is bloated.

Just take it easy.

Eddie´s going to take care of all you boys.

lt´s like a fucking car wash.

Bernstein, what´s wrong today?

You got shit uP, it ain´t coming out.

Why don´t you stick your head uP my ass,

and see what the Problem is.

Frankie, your Piss bag´s all cloudy too.

You´ve been drinking enough water?

l told you, you gots to flush them kidneys every day.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Hey, Frankie, man, l think l´m done.

l think l´m ready, man.

Kovic, are you fucking with me again?

You better chill out.

l´m not fucking with you, Eddie.

l´m not fucking with you, man.

My man, Kovic!

Mr. 4th of July.

[announcer on TV] PoIitician5, prote5ter5, and poIice

are aII here in Chicago

for the 1968 pre5identiaI EIection.

Chicago poIice tonight charged the crowd.

Fucking gook-lovers, they ought to die.

There he goes, man. lt´s Leon.

Hey!

Hey!

Hey!

They´re coming through the wire!

Hey!

Chieu Hoi! Chieu Hoi, Leon.

They´re going to overrun us!

They´re going to overrun us!

Hey, John!

Hey, hey, hey, Chieu Hoi, Leon.

Chieu Hoi, man!

Shut the fuck uP, Leon!

Hit him with some morPhine.

Chicago ha5 an Alice in Wonderland quaiity about it.

Thing5 are getting curiou5er and curiou5er.

Everywhere you go, there´s a 5ign reminding you

that the city...

Love it or leave it, you fucking bastards!

Hey, you ready, Kovic?

They´re burning the flag, man.

They´re fucking burning the American flag.

Come on. Let´s look alive.

Looking good. Looking good.

Come on, Kovic.

Come on, Kovic. Real nice.

How many did l do yesterday?

Three.

[Ronnie] Three?

You had enough?

-Let´s do seven. -There you go.

Come on. Let´s go for seven, then.

Come on, Ronnie. Come on, Kovic.

Get uP there. Get uP there.

KeeP going. Come on, fucking Marine.

There you go. Real nice.

♪ This´ll be the day that l die ♪

[doctor] 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 mid chest down.

Probably you´ll be in a wheelchair

for the rest of your life.

Do you understand what l´m saying?

Well, doctor, will...

Hmm?

Will l ever be able

to have children?

No.

No, but we have a very good Psychologist here.

-He´s helped-- -Oh, l´ll walk again.

-l know l´ll walk again. -Let me tell you something, Ron.

You will never walk again.

Let´s go.

You´re walking good in these things.

What am l looking like, good? Yeah, l look good?

You´re one crazy Marine, Kovic.

So gung ho and everything

but you don´t know shit about what´s going on over here

in this country.

Fuck you, Willie.

l´m serious, man.

lt ain´t about burning the flag in Vietnam, man.

Why do we fight for rights over here

and we ain´t got rights at home?

lt´s about Detroit and Newark, man.

lt´s about racism, man,

-[Ronnie] ls that right? -but you can´t get no job at home.

Vietnam´s a white man´s war, a rich man´s war.

Where´s my money?

[Willie] l´m serious. You got to read some books, man.

There´s a revolution going on, Kovic.

Brothers are getting it together.

lf 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 the bitch.

Oh, man, that´s some good weed.

Take the bra off. l´ll give you another 10.

Why, sure, sugar.

Like this?

Oh, Shh! Yeah, yeah.

Suck on my tits.

Honey, anything you want.

Shh!

♪ l guess you´d say ♪

♪ What could make me feel this way ♪

♪ My girl ♪

♪ My girl ♪

♪ My girl ♪

♪ Talking ´bout my girl ♪

♪ My girl ♪

Good.

Easy now.

Easy now.

Very good.

Hey, Doc, it´s really beautiful uP here.

l´m walking out of here, guys.

You´ll see. Right, Willie?

Right.

Easy.

Oh l´m all right. l´m all right.

Okay, that´s enough for today.

Okay now, good. Good.

Easy, now. Easy, now.

Don´t go too far.

-Don´t do too much. -Looking good today, Chris.

Looking good.

Don´t go too far now.

All right!

-Way to go, Kovic. -Amazing, huh?

Nothing from the chest down.

lt can be done. lt can be done.

SemPer fi, motherfucker!

All right!

All right, man.

KeeP it going. Let´s go!

Let´s go. Let´s go.

Let´s go.

Willie!

l think l need somebody.

[man] Let´s get him uP.

Something snaPPed.

-lt´s my neck. Just my neck. -You all right. You all right.

-What is it? -[Willie] Ah, shit!

Harry!

Hang on. Hang on.

l´m okay. Just my neck. What was that sound?

Oh, shit.

What?

lt´s fine.

We´re doing fine.

ls that my bone?

Harry, Harry, get a doc.

Am l okay?

[Willie] lt´s okay. lt´s all right. Everybody relax.

Harry, let´s go! Let´s go!

Oh, fuck.

Washington!

Washington, where the fuck were you?

l´ve been Pushing this call button

and staring at my own fucking vomit

for two fucking hours.

What´s the matter with you fucking PeoPle?

l´m laying in my own shit.

Why don´t you change the sheets?

This goddamned fucking Place.

l need a bath.

Don´t be raising your voice to me, Mr. Kovic!

You watch your mouth.

Why don´t you peoPle help me, huh?

What´s the matter with you?

l don´t feel right. l don´t feel right, either.

l need to see the doctor. l need to see him now.

-He´s not available. -l want to see him now!

He´s always too busy, isn´t he?

What´s eating you now, Kovic?

Fucking shit.

You going off the deeP end?

They´ll amputate that leg,

if you keeP going on like this.

-What do l have to do-- -Don´t you ever Put your hands on me.

All l´m saying is l just want to be treated like a human being.

l don´t want any of that shit!

Trying to keeP me fucking drugged

so l don´t know what´s going on around here, man.

This Place is a fucking slum.

[Willie] You want out, man? Fine.

We take that leg of yours,

-we get you out of here in two weeks. -l want my leg.

-Why? -l want my leg.

-You can´t feel it. -lt´s my leg.

l want my leg. Do you understand?

Can´t you understand that?

All l´m saying is l want to be treated like a human being.

l fought for my country. l´m a Vietnam veteran!

l fought for my country!

-[man] Shut the fuck uP! -l should be treated decent!

-[indistinct shouting] -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? -Come on, Marvin. Go on!

-Go on down-- -No! l don´t need this!

Hey, you fuck!

Hey, goddamn you!

Goddamn it.

l am a fucking Vietnam veteran!

Marvin!

Marvin, now!

Marvin!

What´s uP? What´s uP?

Marvin, look!

Oh, fuck!

lt´s off.

lt ain´t going to work.

Start!

Washington, get the doctor.

Wait a minute. All right, all right, all right.

Okay, yeah. All right. l will.

How you doing, Eddie?

Let´s see what´s wrong with this thing.

Doc, they tell me if we don´t get this PumP working,

that they´re gonna cut my leg off. l want my leg.

[doctor] You´ll be all right.

What do we do?

Do we have another pumP anywhere, doctor?

Well, this is the only one, Eddie.

Ron. lt´s Ron Kovic, doctor.

Ron. Sorry, man. Ron.

You are a doctor?

lt´s the Vietnam war, Ron. Cutbacks.

The government´s not giving us the money we need

to take care of you guys.

We´re doing our best.

lt´s really too bad. lt´s not fair at all.

l´ve tried hard to keeP this leg.

l´ve been straPPed in this bed for four months

so l could keeP this leg.

l want this leg. l´m trying to remain calm.

Maybe l can rig up a substitute.

l´ll look in the basement and see what we got, right?

-You´re coming back? -Soon.

Let go, Ron. Let go.

[man] We really did try to helP Mr. Kovic, doc.

[Ronnie screams]

[dramatic music]

[woman] Susanne, he´s here.

Ronnie´s home.

Okay, out on 3.

All right, 1, 2, 3.

Oh, that´s great.

Did you Paint the house, Dad?

[Mr. Kovic] Yeah. l Painted it.

Yellow. lt looks good.

lt looks Pretty good.

l got that.

That´s all right.

Let´s go, Dad.

The kids have been talking about you. They can´t wait to see you.

lt´s really great to be back in the neighborhood.

l got it. l 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?

Yeah, just like your old man.

Ronnie.

Hey, Tommy.

Good to see you.

Look at that hair, Dad.

You let him look like that?

l don´t have too much to say about it.

How are you doing, Jimmy?

Hey. lt´s good to have you home.

Yeah, it´s good to be home.

Are you out for good?

Yeah, l´m out for good.

You know, l wanted to come visit you in the hosPital.

l tried like--

How many Pull-uPs you do, huh? How many Pull-uPs?

You know, l did 23 Pull-uPs.

l´m okay, l´m okay

l´m all right.

Ronnie.

Susanne.

Good to have you home.

Great.

[Ronnie] You didn´t tell me she was this beautiful.

She´s a woman, huh?

[Susanne] Oh, l´m sorry.

That´s all right. You know, l can´t feel anything anyway.

-l´m only Paralyzed. -l´m sorry.

You look good.

Yeah, real good.

Ronnie.

Mom.

Ronnie.

Hey, Mom.

Oh, look at your hair.

lt looks great.

You like it?

Oh, you look beautiful.

Thanks.

lt´s good to be home.

lt´s better than seeing me

at that hosPital, huh?

lt´s okay

l know.

l´m okay.

l´m okay.

lt´s good to have you home, Ronnie.

Gee, everybody looks so good.

Everybody looks so good.

l´m going to go inside for a minute.

Wait, Mom, wait.

[Mr. Kovic] She´ll be okay

Hey, Ronnie, how are you, man? You look good. You look good.

Ronnie, you look good.

Ronnie, welcome home. You look so good.

lt´s so good to see you.

Hey, Ronnie, welcome home. Nice to see you.

Look at Harry. You look good.

-Welcome home, Ron. -Hi, Ronnie.

Let´s go in the house and helP.

Come on, Mom. lt´s all right.

Looks good.

Yeah?

You need some helP?

No. l´m okay, Dad.

Fixed uP a bathroom for you, Ronnie.

Put a wider doorway in.

l built a shower for you, too.

You can get in here Pretty easy.

Oh, and l Put some handles

on the toilet for you.

Ronnie.

Thanks, Dad.

lt´s really great to be back in my room.

lt´s good to have you.

lt´s good to have you, Ronnie.

Come on, l´ll show you,

l´ll show you some new stuff we got

in the bedroom over here.

My HaPPauge Boyer´s, Ronnie, grossed 85 grand last six months.

Now my competitor´s rushing in to build.

But l was first. The PeoPle are loyal.

Now you Probably think it´s just a hamburger, Ronnie.

You´re right. A Patty´s just a Piece of meat.

But it can be a Piece of meat with character, all right.

You see that doughnut hole here in the Patty?

Mind you, it gets us 18 Patties to the Pound instead of 16.

lt saves me about $40,000 a year.

That´s serious money, Ron.

And then l Plug the hole

with lettuce, tomatoes, choPPed onions, sPices,

our secret sauce.

And l cover the whole thing with a Pickle.

They´ll never miss a thing, Ron.

Hey, give me a good one for Ronnie there.

Thank you very much, John. You´re doing a good job.

-Thank you, sir. -Try this.

You don´t find that at McDonald´s on Sunrise, Ronnie.

l got a drive-in window, too.

lt´s the first one in Long lsland.

lt´s clean, it´s cheaP, it´s fast.

Feed the family for $3.95.

And check out these chicks, will you?

l got more wearing those new miniskirts.

lt´s my idea. lt´s good for tiPs.

The customers always come back.

MassaPequa´s changed, Ronnie.

Watch yourself there.

lt´s no mom-and-PoP oPeration anymore.

This is our town now. You all right? But l wanna Push you out.

Excuse me, girls.

You´re doing a very nice job. KeeP uP the good work, okay, Louise?

Good.

CoPiague, Ronnie, Jericho, Bayville,

Valley Stream, man.

l want to turn Boyer´s

into a whole Long lsland thing.

l want you to come and work for me.

What do you think?

What can l do?

This is our town now. You´re Part of it.

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.

l could start you out as a cashier.

Cashier?

Then you could learn the business,

and Potentially work your way uP to be manager

of one of these places just like your dad.

l get 1,700 a month from the government.

l think l´m just going to take my time and look around.

That´s charity money, Ronnie.

This isn´t charity.

Here´s your cola.

l´m saying you got to Put the war behind you.

You know, you gotta forget about this chair you´re in.

Sometimes, you know, Stevie,

l think PeoPle, they know you´re back from Vietnam,

and their face changes,

the eyes, the voice, the way they look at you, you know.

l know what you mean, but PeoPle here,

they don´t give a shit about the war.

To them, it´s just a million miles away.

lt´s all bullshit anyway.

The government sold us a bill of goods

and we bought it.

Got the shit kicked out of us for what, huh?

What do you mean ´´we´´ Stevie?

You were in college, man.

lt 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,

PeoPle dying every day.

Nobody back here even seems to care.

lt´s a bunch of goddamn shit if you ask me.

Ronnie, don´t take the Lord´s name in vain

not in front of the children.

l agree with everything you say.

You know, l served my country.

They just want to take from it. Just take, take.

Love it or leave it, that´s what l think.

l gotta do some homework. l´ll see you.

Then the other side´s angry

because we´re not winning the war.

How can we win a situation like that? How can we win?

-Tommy, what´s the matter? -Nothing.

Anybody listening here? Tommy?

What?

Tommy´s going to fail English if he doesn´t start working on himself.

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 is this?

SPit it out. You believe in demonstrators?

-Huh? What? -No.

You don´t talk anymore? What, is this true?

You don´t we think we´re right in the war?

l don´t agree with everything you´re saying.

Okay? l don´t think you understand.

-[Mrs. Kovic] What does Tommy know? -l don´t understand?

He´s hanging around with creePy longhairs

who take drugs. They smoke Pot!

-Mom, that´s not the reason. -How do they know?

Have they ever worked for a living?

You want to burn the flag? Huh, Tommy?

What is it?

You want to bring down this country?

Love it or leave it, Tommy.

You know, you could just love it or leave it.

All they´re trying to say, Ronnie,

is they don´t want more people

to come back like you.

Like me? That´s easy for them to say.

That´s an easy excuse.

But where were they when their country needed them?

Where were they? Where?

You served your country.

l mean, what did you get out of it?

Look at you.

Well, look at me.

Look at you, man.

l got to go. l´ll see you around, all right?

What´s wrong with me, Tommy?

What´s wrong with me?

ls there something wrong with me?

l volunteered, Tommy!

You don´t know what you´re talking about!

-Where were you? Were you there? -[door shuts]

Were you there? You can just love it or leave it, Tommy!

Mom, l can´t believe what Tommy just said to me.

l can´t believe what Tommy just said to me.

[knuckles raPPing]

Parade time, Ronnie.

You tell them l´ll be right there, all right?

What kind of car is it?

l think it´s a Continental.

Continental? A convertible?

Yeah.

They said it was gonna be a convertible.

You´re coming uP in the world.

♪ Would you like to ride ♪

♪ ln my beautiful balloon ♪

♪ Would you like to ride ♪

♪ ln my beautiful balloon ♪

♪ We could float among the stars together ♪

♪ You and l ♪

♪ For we can fly ♪

♪ We can fly ♪

♪ UP, uP and away ♪

♪ ln my beautiful ♪

♪ My beautiful ♪

♪ Balloon ♪

[uPbeat music]

[loud PoPs]

[crowd cheering]

[loud PoPs]

Today is JuIy tbe 4th, and I beIieve in America.

[audience claPPing]

And I beIieve in Americani5m.

But mo5t of aIi,

I beiieve in victory forAmerica.

Some peopie are 5tarting to 5ay the war is wrong,

that we shouIdn´t be tbere.

Some peopie wouId Iike to tear our country down.

But who are the kid5 defending their rigbt to prote5t?

The5e are the kid5 who care about our country.

Kid5 who have re5pect for their fiag

and their parent5 and their government

and their reIigion.

Kids Iike Joey WaI5h.

He wa5 the first.

We got a 5treet in the park named after him.

And Danny Topinka,

BiIiy Vor5ovich,

phiI and Larry PoweiI,

Tommy FinneIIi.

Six boy5 from Ma55apequa

and they aII knew what honor, duty,

and sacrifice meant.

They paid the highest price.

They died for it.

[audience claPPing]

Thi5 town´5 been hit hard.

It´s aiways been hit hard.

Doc over here, he wa5 in the First War.

A Iot of u5 here were in the second.

That´5 why we can´t give up.

That´5 why we´re going to win in Vietnam.

[audience cheering and claPPing]

Becau5e Mas5apequa´s been there before,

because of tho5e 5ix wonderfuI boy5,

and becau5e of him.

Ron, come over here and say a few word5, wouId you, piea5e?

Ron Kovic, iadie5 and gentIemen.

He wa5 born on the 4th of JuIy, 1946.

Let´5 give him a big hand on hi5 great birthday.

Iju5t want to say for aII the guys in Vietnam

that we´re doing our be5t.

It´5 not an ea5y 5ituation,

but the boy5´ moraie over there is reaI high,

and you can feeI confident

that we are going to win that war.

[audience cheering and claPPing]

I 5erved my country,

and I don´t want you to feeI sorry for me.

Do not 5hed a tear.

I have my band5, my eye5, my ear5.

I have my heart.

And I have what I feeI...

I have what I feeI i5

an unquenchabIe...

[baby crying]

[choPPer blades whirring]

-[helicoPter whirring] -[exPlosions in distance]

lt´s okay. lt´s okay, Ronnie.

lt´s okay, kid.

l´m sorry.

l´m sorry.

And we´II continue to fight

becau5e of guys Iike Ron Kovic.

Dad, where´s the car?

lt´s across the street.

Like he 5aid, we´re going to win that war.

Ronnie.

Ronnie.

Timmy?

Timmy, man?

Timmy!

l 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.

Hundred5 of thousands of antiwar demon5trators have come

to Washington DC to 5hut the city down.

And Martin´5 Laugh In,

5tarring Dan Rowan and Dick Martin,

with Sammy Davi5 Jr. and Judy Carne.

Honey. Come on, it´s starting.

[Mr. Kovic] Okay, l´m coming.

lt´s the one with Sammy Davis.

Oh, yeah?

[Ronnie] Who else used to Play?

[Timmy] Come on, Ronnie.

[Ronnie] No. Come on.

Tell me who.

[Timmy] Bobby Moore at shortstop.

Grady Rogers at third.

[Ronnie] Grady got sick. lt was Finnelli at third.

[Timmy] Tommy Finnelli. Yeah.

Got hit with one of his own mortars over the DMZ.

That´s crazy, man.

Shit, l heard about that.

Remember the twins,

-Phil and Larry Powell? -Oh, the twins.

Oh, they were great wrestlers.

Oh, man. They were fucking great.

Yes, tough bastards.

And 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.

-l´m telling you the truth. -Right away?

lt was a landmine or something.

-He got hit in the head with a tree. -What?

He got hit in the head with a tree. Yeah, l´m telling you the truth.

He goes all the way over to Vietnam,

and he gets killed by a flying fucking tree.

For Christ´s sake.

That´s really fucking funny.

l think the whole fucking town got devastated, Ronnie.

l don´t think we got a fucking friend left.

lt´s really funny.

When did you get hit, Timmy?

SePtember the 18th.

Near Dong Ha.

A lot of bad shit uP there, Ronnie,

l´m telling you.

Things l don´t even want to talk about.

You know.

l mean, it was crazy.

Shooting anything that fucking moved, you know?

When did you get hit?

Me?

January 20th.

Yes, somePlace off,

jeez, l don´t even remember.

Near some river uP in the DMZ.

Walked into a whole fucking battalion of them.

Got shot in the foot.

l got uP running around like l was

back in the woods again,

like l was John fucking Wayne or something

emPtying a mag, screaming,

´´Come on, Charlie.

Motherfucker! Come on out, Charlie, motherfucker!´´

Rat-tat-tat-tat.

l heard this loud crack above my right ear,

and l just felt my body

drop out from under me.

Christ, l thought l was dead for sure.

How was the hosPital?

lt sucked.

-l know. -Really bad.

l´ll tell you something, Ronnie.

Sometimes at night,

l get these headaches, you know?

They´re bad.

And they just kind of come over me,

and these fucking doctors don´t know shit, you know.

They just come, you know, like l´m going crazy or something.

l don´t feel like me anymore, you know?

l feel like, when they come,

l feel like somebody else, you know.

What can you do? What do you do when that haPPens?

Nothing. Not a goddamn thing enough.

Well, mostly l do a lot of drugs.

You do anything you can, you know, Ronnie?

You get through it any way you know how.

When l was in the hosPital,

l thought, ´´Yeah, this makes sense.´´

[Timmy] What makes sense?

´Cause l failed, Timmy.

[Timmy] What are you talking about?

´Cause l killed someone, some PeoPle.

l made some terrible mistakes.

[Timmy] Ronnie, Christ´s sakes, we all made mistakes.

l mean, you had no choice.

That´s something those goddamn Pansy demonstrators

are never going to understand.

Ronnie, you don´t even gotta talk about it.

lt was insane over there. lt was crazy.

Sometimes l wish l´d...

First time, l got hit, l was shot in the foot,

l could have laid down.

Who gives a fuck now

if l was a hero or not?

l was Paralyzed, castrated that day. Why?

´Cause l was so stuPid.

l have my dick and my balls now

and l think, Timmy, l´d give everything l believe in,

everything l got, all my values

just to have my body back again,

just to be whole again.

But l´m not whole.

l never will be,

and that´s the way it is, isn´t it?

[Timmy] For Christ´s sakes, Ronnie,

it´s your birthday.

You´re alive.

You made it.

Smile.

[train rumbling]

[conductor] Syracu5e, New York. Our next 5top...

[People chattering]

♪ Oh, where have you been ♪

♪ My blue-eyed son ♪

♪ Oh, where have you been ♪

♪ My darling young one ♪

♪ l´ve walked and l´ve crawled ♪

♪ On six crooked highways ♪

♪ l´ve been out in front ♪

♪ Of a dozen dead oceans ♪

♪ l´ve been 10,000 miles ♪

♪ ln the mouth of a graveyard ♪

♪ And it´s a hard ♪

♪ lt´s a hard ♪

♪ lt´s a hard ♪

♪ lt´s a hard ♪

♪ lt´s a hard rain ♪

♪ That´s gonna fall ♪

♪ Who did you meet ♪

♪ My blue-eyed son ♪

Those long letters l wrote you

from over there?

Crazy stuff, huh?

That´s all right.

l just had to say everything

that l couldn´t say when we were growing uP.

-They were beautiful letters. Yeah. -Yeah?

l wasn´t too sure about the sPelling in them.

Who cares if you can sPell?

There was a lot of feeling in the words.

l´m so sorry for what haPpened to you, Ronnie.

My mom called me at school and told me.

l was just so shocked.

l wanted to reach out and helP you.

But it was just so frustrating,

And l just stood in the hallway of my dorm room, shaking.

l couldn´t say anything.

[Jeff] Donna.

They need you over at Locklin.

No, l can´t right now. Jeff, later.

Well, don´t forget about the meeting.

-Yeah? -9:00?

-Yeah. -Thanks.

-l´m sorry. -You´re real busy, huh?

We´ve got this Kent State demonstration tomorrow.

l´m on the organizing committee.

Kent State. l heard about that.

lt was, Jesus, terrible.

lt´s terrible.

When l saw that girl

lying in that Pool of blood

at the Parking lot at Kent State,

l kePt on thinking of that Poster

of the children that were killed at My Lai.

And l kePt on thinking about you over there

and all the boys who´ve died,

who´ve sacrificed their bodies

and their minds.

The war is so wrong, Ronnie. lt´s so wrong.

l 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!

Strike now, shut it down!

Strike now, shut it down!

You know, Ronnie, l´m not saying that you are,

but if you have any feelings against the war,

you could really helP.

You know, l mean, you´ve been there

and 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 l crazy that night running through the rain.

l just had to dance with you.

Before l went in, l just had to dance with you.

l don´t know, it was like l knew.

l remember l made a Promise to myself

that night that l would come back

and would love you forever.

[man] Donna. Hey, Donna.

Yeah?

Donna, we just lost the Reverend.

He can´t make it tomorrow.

What?

He can´t make it.

Oh Jesus.

What can we do? Who can we get?

Just let me think, okay?

Okay.

l´ll see you later.

-All right. -Okay.

-Better hurry. -Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Ronnie, l got to go inside.

Do you want to come?

No, l don´t think so.

Okay.

Okay.

Maybe l´ll hang around. Maybe we´ll talk later.

All right. l´ll see you later.

[crowd] 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!

All right! Wow!

lt´s great to be at free Syracuse University!

We´re really getting an education now, aren´t we?

Right on, man! Close it down.

Yesterday, l was at Brooklyn College, NYU.

They were both closed down.

Over 200 high schools are closed down.

Over 400 universities are closed down.

lt´ll be twice that number

by the time...

This is an unlawful assembly.

lf you do not disperse--

The people that Pulled the trigger that killed the kids at Kent State

have names like General Waste-more-land!

SPiro Agnew!

Tricky Dicky Nixon!

Wait for the command. Wait for the command.

And then we go to Washington,

and confront the war makers in their own house!

On to Washington! On to the White House!

l loved this country once.

And all this l won over there.

Check it out.

PurPle Heart, Bronze Star,

all the commendation medals,

all the rest of that garbage.

lt don´t mean a thing.

Fuck this shit!

Fuck it. This is war!

l 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 out of here!

Get back! Get back!

Donna!

The whole world´s watching!

The whole world´s watching!

The whole world´s watching!

The whole world´s watching!

The whole world´s watching!

The whole world´s watching!

Donna!

♪ Now, when l was just a little boy ♪

♪ l 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 ♪

♪ No, he´ll get you ♪

My machine breaks down,

and they´re ready to cut my leg off.

And that´s what the guy,

no, that´s what the guy in the hosPital said.

He said, ´´You can take your Vietnam,

and you can stuff it uP your ass.´´

So when it´s not Vietnam, take it and shove it uP your ass.

Hey, Mel!

Double shot of rye, beer chaser, sweetheart!

They ain´t fighting the war to win, anyway.

lf you ask me, they should just bomb the shit out of Hanoi

and get the boys the fuck out of there.

Four corner hard way.

Fucking-A.

Vietnam.

Vietnam.

They ought to write a song about something

that gets under your skin.

Remember Del Shannon? Runaway?

♪ As l walk along ♪

♪ l wonder what went wrong ♪

♪ To our love ♪

♪ A love that was so strong ♪

♪ Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa ♪

♪ l´ll tell you what went wrong ♪

♪ lt was fucking Vietnam ♪

lt was the wrong fucking war.

Timmy, it was the wrong fucking war.

Come on, Ronnie. Take a shot, will you?

And you can take your Vietnam,

and you can shove it uP yo´ fucking ass!

No, you shove it uP your ass, Pal.

ls everybody suPPosed to feel sorry

because you´re in a fucking wheelchair?

What?

You ain´t the only fucking Marine here.

l was on lwo Jima. We lost 5,000 men the first day.

Don´t cry in your fucking beer to me.

Now, you served and you lost

and you got to live with it.

You´re a Marine, man. SemPer fi.

You Picked them. They didn´t Pick you.

Quit your fucking Pissing and moaning.

Timmy, Timmy, who is this asshole?

l don´t know, Ronnie. Just leave it alone, okay?

l think guys like you

are dumb fucking assholes.

That´s what l think.

l bet you do, you sorry son of a bitch.

´Cause you know damn well if they win,

if they win it,

your ass will be the first against the wall.

You know goddamn well you can´t trust a fucking traitor.

You call me a fucking traitor?

lf you weren´t in that fucking chair...

l am in this fucking chair, motherfucker!

ToP of the ninth, Charlie!

Shut the fuck uP.

You shut the fuck uP, man!

Come on, Phil, forget it!

-Bullshit! -He´s a nut job!

Come on, Ronnie, he ain´t fucking worth it.

Will you come on?

Hey, what´s hapPening? What´s your name?

Jenny.

Penny?

-Jenny. -Jenny.

How about going to Mexico with me tonight?

Mexico? What do you mean, Mexico?

l mean, you´re really beautiful. That´s what l mean.

Oh, yeah?

Oh, a really beautiful Place,

the ocean, the sand, the sun.

We could leave tonight. We could take a plane tonight.

Let´s go tonight.

l think you´re really crazy.

-Hey, hey. -Billy!

Hey, Steve!

What´s going on?

Same old shit. Same old, same old.

♪ Well, l can remember the 4th of July ♪

♪ Running through the backwoods bay ♪

l bet you Practiced a lot.

l´ve got a lifetime of Practice, Jenny.

♪ The way that he done to me ♪

♪ ´Cause he´ll get you now ♪

♪ Gonna get you ♪

♪ Well, l can remember ♪

You okay? You all right?

l don´t mean to laugh.

Shut uP, Jenny.

Look at him. He´s fucking shitfaced!

Ronnie?

Ron?

Ronnie?

Give him some room. Get back.

Get him the fuck out of here.

Give me my chair.

Just give me my chair. l just want to dance.

l just want to dance. Give me my chair.

Jenny!

Jenny!

l got it. l got it.

Come on, come on.

Hey, Steve, let´s go. Come on.

Come on. Steve, come on, let´s go.

[Mrs. Kovic] 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. Give that to me.

You can´t stay in this house.

This is what you believe in, isn´t it, Ma?

This is what you believe in but l don´t.

-l don´t believe in him anymore. -Go to bed, honey. lt´s okay.

-l´ll take care of him. -´Cause he only had to stay three days

uP there. Me, l got to spend the rest of my life. l wish l were dead like him.

-You don´t know what you´re saying. -That´s the Problem, mom.

l´m not dead. l got to live. l got to live and l got to roll around.

l got to remind them of Vietnam.

And you don´t wanna know. You don´t want to see us.

You want to hide us. You want to hide us,

´cause it is a can of shit!

And l am a fucking dummy!

He won´t listen. He won´t change.

Ronnie, Please you gotta take your mom seriously.

-You can´t drink in this house. -l believed everything they told us.

-Go fight! Go kill! -Mom!

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! -Ronnie!

StoP it! Go to bed!

You sleeP it off.

What did they do to you in that war?

What hapPened to you?

You need helP, Ronnie. You need help.

You need helP with all your God

and your bullshit dreams about me! -You´re gonna wake uP

-You are ashamed of me! -the whole neighborhood!

You are embarrassed by me!

Go to sleep. Let me talk to him all right?

-You go to bed. -Fuck you!

-What did you say to me? -Don´t you talk to your mother like that?

What did you say to me?

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, -Ronnie, stop it!

what they did to this whole block, this whole country.

-They´re gonna call the Police this time. -We went to Vietnam to stop communism.

We shot women and children.

You didn´t shoot women and children. What are you saying?

They said the war, communism, the insidious evil.

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?

lsn´t that what you taught us?

StoP it.

StoP it!

StoP it!

l don´t want you in this house.

You´re out of this house.

Ron, come on now, you made your Point, now stoP.

No! l haven´t made my Point.

You tell her, Dad.

They´re killing everyone now!

l didn´t force you to go!

Yes, you did! Yes, you did!

And it´s all falling aPart!

King, Kennedy, Kent State!

We all lost the fucking war!

lt´s not my fault!

Fucking communism won. lt´s all for nothing.

That´s not true, Ronnie.

How do you know? What do you know?

Ron.

You tell her, Dad!

Tell her it´s a lie! lt´s a fucking lie!

There´s no God!

God is as dead as my legs!

There´s no God! There´s no country!

lt´s nothing.

lt´s just me and this fucking wheelchair

for the rest of my life for nothing.

Me and this,

this dead Penis, Mom.

-Oh, God! Ronnie! -No, not with the catheter.

For God´s sake Penis!

Eli, l can´t stand it anymore.

To hell with you.

ln church they say it´s a sin

if you Play with your Penis.

l just wish l 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 l do? What can l do?

l never even got time to learn how to use it.

lt´s gone in some jungle

in some fucking jungle over in Asia, just gone.

l´m sorry it haPPened this way.

l´m sorry you´re sad, Mom.

l´m so sorry you´re sad.

l´m so fucked uP.

Fucked uP.

Ronnie, maybe a little triP is all you need.

That Place down in Mexico

you were talking about.

l don´t want to go to Mexico.

l don´t want to go no place.

l don´t want to go no place.

Ronnie, l think you should go.

What can l do, Ronnie?

What do you want?

l 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?

[dramatic music]

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. Ron Kovic.

Just what we need. Another limP dick.

Where are you from?

Massapequa, Long lsland.

Hey, guys, say hello to Ron Kovic.

-Just in from the States. -[man] Fuck!

Hi, Ron.

Laugh, motherfucker, go ahead.

You´re gonna get yours.

Fuck you. Come here, baby.

Put your hand on my crotch.

My dick ain´t been hard in years.

What´s your name?

Charlie, from Chicago.

How long has this game been going on for?

55 hours.

How long have you been here?

A hundred fucking years.

´Cause l got a gun.

-l ain´t ever going back. Fuck the States. -[man] Fuck the States.

Nobody understood, nobody cared.

Nobody gave a shit.

And the women,

the fucking women didn´t even want to look at me,

goddamn women, fucking States.

l ain´t never going back.

l want something simPle.

Oh, baby, you´re so beautiful.

Ain´t she beautiful?

Here we go.

She´s beautiful.

Go on into town. Get yourself one.

They´ll 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, buddy,

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.

[whistle shrieks]

[sPeaking SPanish]

[People chattering]

Are you from Villa Rosa?

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

Bueno. We go?

What´s that?

Do you want to go uPstairs?

No. No, l´m just looking around.

l just came in.

Yeah, l´d like to go uPstairs. l´d like to.

Good. Then come.

Let´s do it.

What´s your name?

Maria Elena.

Maria Elena?

Hmm, 5i.

[sPeaking SPanish]

The money.

Sorry, l don´t know how much.

This is good.

Why don´t you take them off?

No, it doesn´t matter.

l can´t feel anything.

l was Paralyzed in the war.

-Vietnam? -Yes.

You let me see?

No. lt doesn´t move.

-l can´t. -Oh, yes.

lt´s no good.

Yes, let me see.

No. Look, Please, no.

My sPine was severed.

l have no movement, no feeling.

There´s nothing down here at all.

-lt´s okay. -Nothing haPPens.

Okay, okay.

Okay.

We´re going to have a good time.

lt´s going to be okay.

You like?

Yes. You´re very Pretty.

[sPeaking SPanish]

Hey, man, Kovic. How was it?

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. lt was great.

Just remember, keep one hand on her tits

and the other hand on your wallet.

Paradise! Right, man?

Whoo!

[dramatic music]

Can l see this?

l´ll riP your fucking eye out

You ever been skull-fucked? You ever been skull-fucked?

Yeah, l´ll do it, man. l´ll do it, motherfucker.

lt don´t mean a fucking thing.

l´ll be here tomorrow.

You couldn´t keeP me away with a baseball bat.

l´ll be here for sure.

[sPeaking SPanish]

[sPeaking SPanish]

So we get married today, no?

Oh, yeah, yeah. That would be great.

Yeah.

Hi.

Want to fuck me, mister, huh?

Hey, guapo, l´ll give you a blow job.

Hey, mister, you want me? 60 Pesos.

Let´s go.

Dear Mr. And Mr5. WiI5on,

weIi, I don´t know how to teII you thi5

but I knew your son in Vietnam.

He was...

l´m going to kill that fucking guy.

l got him once.

l´m just gonna kill him now.

You´ll see. l´m serious.

Your body.

[man] l´m just going to fucking kill him.

lmas!

l´ll fucking kill you!

l´ll kill you, bitch!

You can´t talk to me like that!

Hey! Charlie!

Get out! Get out!

The bitch thinks it´s funny l can´t move my dick!

Fuck her.

l´ll kill you, bitch!

Fuck all you Mexican motherfuckers!

You don´t like it, get out!

Fuck your syPhillitic mother!

Hey! Don´t touch my friend.

Don´t touch me. Don´t you fucking touch me!

Get the hell out!

Don´t come back no more.

l 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?

Villa Rosa. l told him fucking Villa Rosa!

Villa Rosa?

Villa Rosa!

ViIIa Ro5a, 5enor, ViIIa Ro5a.

Beautiful Place, you´ll see.

Great fucking whorehouse there, man.

Wait until we get there.

Beautiful 5enorita5 with big tits, small tits.

That goddamn slut. That Mexican scumbag cunt.

l think l saw a sign, Villa Rosa, 10 minutes ago.

How the fuck far you going, taco head?

[sPeaking SPanish]

Wasn´t that turn back there?

The sign that said Villa Rosa?

Look at the meter! lt´s rigged!

He´s rigged the fucking meter! Hey, asshole!

Hey, l told you fucking Villa Rosa!

[sPeaking SPanish]

What are we going to do now?

Fuck them.

Yeah, sure. How are we going out of here?

Fuck them all.

Fuck the whores.

Fuck the cab drivers. Fuck Mexico.

Fuck Nixon, fuck Vietnam, fuck them all.

Yeah Charlie, but how are we going to get out of here?

They made me kill babies, man. Little gook babies.

You ever have to kill a baby?

Yeah. Okay, come on.

We´ll get a ride. We got to get back to the villa.

-Fuck you! -Gotta get back to the villa.

What do you mean, okay?

What do you mean, okay?

You ever have to kill a little baby?

You ever have to kill a little gook baby?

What the fuck do you know what l did?

l didn´t think so. l didn´t think so.

You´re full of shit.

No, you are.

Leave me the fuck alone!

You´re nuts.

The fucking sun is going down.

We don´t know what the fuck comes out here.

Now we got to get out of here.

Don´t shit me, Kovic. You never killed a baby.

You never had to kill a baby

because you never Put your soul into that war.

You never Put your soul on the line, man.

How do you know? How the fuck do you know?

Maybe l killed babies.

Maybe l killed more babies than you did, you fuck!

Maybe l killed a whole bunch of babies

but l don´t talk about it!

l 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, is that what you are?

Maybe you got a bunch of fucking medals,

but deeP down, you know you´re full of shit!

You never fought that war.

You weren´t even there, man.

What the fuck do you mean, l wasn´t there, man?

What do you mean?

Come on, hero, come clean.

Why should l?

What the fuck are you hiding?

l´m not hiding nothing.

You´re the one that´s hiding down here in Mexico.

You´re the one that´s hiding.

What are you hiding from, you whiny fuck?

Don´t shit me!

You never killed a baby, anybody, anything, did you, Kovic?

-Did you? -Did you?

Do you ever look at yourself in the fucking mirror?

-Did you? -Fuck you.

-You. -No.

You, fuck you.

-No, fuck you! -[Charlie spits]

Fuck.

Fucking get off me!

Get off me, you fucker.

[sPeaking SPanish]

We need a ride.

Okay, vamano5.

You okay, 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 l going to do, man?

What am l going to do?

[mellow music]

Where you from, WiIson?

Venu5, Georgia.

Georgia?

Thi5 i5 my 5econd tour,

and I haven´t 5een a Georgia boy get it yet.

Yeah?

Yeah, I know about WiIson.

Sir, I think I might have kiiIed nim, 5ir.

I tnink I might have kiiIed him.

I don´t think so.

[dogs barking]

You don´t have to worry about them dogs.

They won´t bite.

Y´all get away now.

Get on away!

lt´s all right. lt´s all right.

They´re Probably just afraid of that chair.

Hello, Mr. Wilson, l´m Ron.

Thanks for seeing me.

Any friend of Billy´s is a friend of ours.

Well, why don´t you come on in the house?

My wife fixed some chicken, if 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 Crabtree,

Andy Henderson--

And the Rutledge boy, Lance.

Yeah, Lance. He was a nice boy.

You know, for the life of me,

l 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.

[Mrs. Wilson] Don´t forget, you were over

in the Pacific in ´44, Guadalcanal.

[Ronnie] ls that right?

[Mr. Wilson] Yeah.

Well, l guess this family´s fought

in every war that this country´s ever had

and l reckon we´re ready to do it again if we have to.

´Course they never did know what done haPPened and all.

There was a letter from a colonel, l think it was.

Colonel Moore.

[Mr. Wilson] That´s right, Colonel Moore.

He said that there was a real bad ambush one night.

Said that Billy distinguished himself in the fight.

He also told us that Billy died real quick.

That´s it good that he died quick.

l was his squad leader.

l 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?

[Mr. Wilson] That´s right, 19.

Only son?

[Mr. Wilson] Yes, sir, my only boy.

l think he said he was married

and you were Pregnant?

l remember the day he was killed.

lt was a strange day.

We were out on Patrol near a beach area

and it was very confusing.

There was screaming and firing.

lt was getting late,

and there were these children,

these babies that we killed by mistake.

How awful.

And then it got really crazy.

And we had to puII back

because the NVA were coming up on u5.

And we got 5cattered in the dune5.

PeopIe were yeIiing at anything firing at anything.

And that wa5 when it happened.

I wa5, confu5ed, scared.

I rai5ed my rifie three times

and 5hot5.

[gun fires]

The body feII in the dune5.

God, this is very difficult for me to say.

[Mr. Wilson] We don´t have to hear this, Ron.

But Mr. Wilson l think l was the one

that killed your son that day.

l was the one. l was the one.

l was the one.

What´s done is done, sir.

l can´t ever forgive you

but maybe the Lord can.

We understand, Ron.

We understand the Pain you´ve been going through.

[uPbeat music]

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[crowd] Peace now!

Peace now!

Peace now!

Peace now!

Peace now!

Bring our brothers home now!

Bring our brothers home now!

Bring our brothers home now!

Bring our brothers home 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!

Drug5, marijuana, traffic vioIation5.

Separate the hippie5.

Tonight, l again Proudly accePt your nomination

for President of the United States.

And let us Place ourselves

to win an even greater victory this November 1972.

Four more years!

Four more years!

Four more years!

Four more years!

Four more years!

Four more years!

Four more years!

Four more years!

Four more years!

Can l break through your comPlacency?

Do you have a moment of comPassion

for the PeoPle suffering in this war?

Do you hear me when l tell you that this war is a crime?

When l tell you l´m not as bitter about my wounds

as l am for the PeoPle who are

-at war for this country. -Who do you think you are?

Can l helP you, sir?

You can´t come through.

You can´t come through, sir.

l have a Pass.

[People chattering]

Who are these PeoPle?

You can´t stoP us!

You can´t stoP me!

You can´t stoP me!

Why are you here tonight?

What do you have to say to these PeoPle?

My name´s Ron Kovic. l´m a Vietnam veteran.

l´m here tonight to say this war is wrong,

that this society lied to me and my brothers.

Why don´t you shut uP?

lt deceived the PeoPle in this country.

lt 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.

l can´t find the words to exPress

how the leadershiP of this government sickens me.

Now, PeoPle say, if you don´t love America,

then get the hell out.

Well, l love America,

and we love the PeoPle of America very much

but when it comes to the government, it stoPs right there.

The government is a bunch of corruPt thieves.

They are raPists and robbers.

And we are here to say

that we don´t have to take it anymore.

We are here to say, we are here to tell the truth.

They´re killing our brothers in Vietnam.

We want them to hear the truth tonight.

Traitor!

What are you? A communist?

ls this what we get,

sPit in the face?

ls this what l get, sir?

ls this what we get, sir? SPit in the face?

We´re never going to let the PeoPle

of the United States forget that war.

[crowd] Four more years!

Four more years!

[Ronnie] You´re not going to sweeP it under the rug

because you didn´t like the ratings

like some television show.

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 come home.

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

or commotion has broken out on the convention floor.

Disabled veterans Protesting the war in Vietnam.

We´ll try to get a microPhone 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 have killed a generation of young men.

They have sacrificed a whole generation of young men.

StoP the bombing!

StoP the bombing!

Communists!

Communists!

StoP the bombing!

StoP the war!

StoP the bombing! StoP the war!

Traitor! Go home!

[Nixon] l 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.

[crowd] 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!

Get the car!

Shut the fuck uP!

You´re under arrest, Kovic! Come on!

What the fuck you talking about?

Shut uP, you bastard. You´re going to jail.

You´re a fucking Pig.

You should´ve died over there, you fucking traitor.

l don´t have balance.

Give me your hands!

Give me those fucking hands.

Okay, l´ll go with you!

l´m not under arrest. l don´t have to--

Hey, take it easy!

Get your fucking hands behind you!

l´m Paralyzed!

Get those cameras out of here!

Hey!

Hey!

l´m Paralyzed!

Get in the fucking car!

Hey!

Hey!

Get him out of here.

My chair!

StoP it!

Tactical line! Advance and disPerse the crowd!

The whole world´s watching!

Let me go!

You okay?

Doc, is he okay?

l´m okay

All right, how we doing here?

How many fingers you got?

Two.

All right, you got a cut on your head. Any Place else on you hurting?

l´m okay. Where´s my chair?

Where´s my chair?

Bring his chair over here!

You got a little cut over your eye.

The media´s got to see this shit.

We heard you shouted down Nixon.

Eddie was arrested, they beat Peterson,

O´Malley´s gassed real bad,

and Piscatelli´s got a concussion!

lt´s a fucking mess over there!

Frankie, bring the media to the gate.

What? The fucking Pigs are coming!

They´re clearing the whole Park, man!

They´ve arrested like 30 PeoPle.

Okay, okay, listen uP! Listen uP.

Hey, hey, hey!

We´re going to take the hall back.

You hear that?

We´re going to the gate.

We´re gonna take the motherfucking hall back.

Fall out! Let´s move!

Turn around! Turn around! Turn around!

[crowd] 1, 2, 3, 4,

we don´t want your fucking war!

1, 2, 3, 4,

we don´t want your fucking war!

Let u5 reject the notion

ofpoIitic5 of the few,

by the few, and for the few.

We dedicate ourselves to the notion

that 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.

She took 18 minutes. She was six minutes over.

l´ve got the Jackson PeoPle breathing down my neck.

Who follows?

lt won´t be a Problem.

You´re the next speaker.

Mr. Kovic, we´re just about ready for you.

Can l get you anything?

Coke, iced tea?

Let´s do it.

Okay, Ron. Let´s go. lt´s your time.

lt´s been a long way to get here, man.

You tell them what it is, Ron!

Go get them, man. For Eddie, man.

Ronnie for president!

The whole world´s watching. l love you.

l feel good.

Ronnie for President.

Congratulations.

l love what you´re doing.

Clear a Path for me uP there, Please.

Stand back. Thank you.

[Mrs. Kovic] I had a dream, Ronnie.

You were 5peaking to a Iarge crowd,

and you were 5aying great thing5.

[man] 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 are you gonna say tonight, Mr. Kovic?

l´m just going to tell the truth.

Any Plans for the future?

l guess we´ll see.

Mr. Kovic, could you Please sign your book?

-Sure. -A young man

who comes from MassaPequa, Long lsland.

All righty, coming through!

All right, sweetheart. Straight on through.

Straight on through.

How does it feel, Mr. Kovic,

to be addressing the entire country?

Overwhelming, an honor.

lt´s been a long way for us, the vets.

Just lately l´ve felt like l´m home.

You know?

Like maybe we´re home.

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