Peace activist, protester, dreamer, are three titles that describe Ron Kovic. Many people know that Ron Kovic was a war hero in the Vietnam War, but he was so much more. As a well known Vietnam activist, Ron Kovic showed America that veterans matter and should not be cast aside from the rest of the world. He left a lasting legacy by taking others ideas and hopes and trying to make them come true. He set up rallies so others would not have to die in a war that they would not win. The origin of Ron Kovic’s call to change was when he learned how veterans were treated. His parents were very supportive and loved Ron. He was born in Ladysmith, Wisconsin on July 4, 1946(Contemporary Authors, Encyclopedia.com). Ron also had a long line of military family members(Contemporary Authors, Encyclopedia.com). Along with his family he had many supporting friends that helped him many times.
In addition to his
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He made over a dozen requests to go to Vietnam(Contemporary Authors, Encyclopedia.com). When he finally went into battle he was stationed in a village on the beach. While they were searching through the village they thought they saw weapons in one hut and set an ambush to push but something went wrong and the front line started opening fire on the hut. This killed many children in the hut(Contemporary Authors, Encyclopedia.com). Enemies soon ambushed while they were bandaging the survivors and in the commotion, Ron shot a U.S. Marine in the throat(Contemporary Authors, Encyclopedia.com). Later, when he was fleeing, he was shot in the achilles and later in the chest, puncturing his lung and shattering his spinal cord, paralyzing him from the chest down instantly(Kovic-Born on the Fourth of July, 37). Also the Government was spending about 40 grand every 60 seconds.(McCormick, front cover). Ron Kovic may have been a hero on and off the battlefield, but every hero has their dark