Ron Kovic
Ron Kovic
Ronald Lawrence "Ron" Kovicis an American anti-war activist, writer and a former United States Marine Corps sergeant, who was wounded and paralyzed in the Vietnam War. He is best known as the author of the memoir Born on the Fourth of July in 1976, which was made into an Academy Award–winning film in 1989 directed by Oliver Stone, with Tom Cruise playing Kovic...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionActivist
Date of Birth4 July 1946
CityLadysmith, WI
CountryUnited States of America
I served two tours of duty in Vietnam. I won the Bronze Star. I won the Purple Heart.
I am the living death, a Memorial Day on wheels. I am your Yankee Doodle Dandy, your John Wayne come home, your Fourth of July firecracker exploding in the grave.
I have come to believe there is nothing in the lives of human beings more terrifying than war and nothing more important than for those of us who have experienced it to share its awful truth.
People say that if you don’t love America, then get the hell out. Well, I love America.
We who have witnessed the obscenity of war and experienced its horror and terrible consequences have an obligation to rise above our pain and suffering and turn the tragedy of our lives into a triumph.
War is not the answer. Violence is not the solution. A more peaceful world is possible.