BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY (1989) | FIRST TIME WATCHING | MOVIE REACTION

Ron Kovic is still here and just turned 79 this 4th of July!!

The man in the wheelchair who flinches at the gunfire during the parade is the real Ron Kovak

My brother in law was 20 years older than me and he was in Vietnam, lost both legs to a claymore . He was the most positive, upbeat guy I ever knew. He'd just strike up conversations with people on line while waiting for a movie or at the airport and they'd be talking and laughing like old friends. In '98, 25 years after he got back, he just shot himself. Never saw it coming.

Tom Cruise was so devoted to giving a true portrayal of Kovic that he pretended to be paralyzed after shooting was over. He didn't get out of the chair and took showers and got into bed pretending his legs didn't work. He went shopping and used the ramps and was in his wig and beard, so people didn't recognize him, and they yelled, ''Hurry up!" to him in the checkout line. He said he couldn't believe the discrimination disabled people go through. It's such a crime he didn't win the Oscar for the role.

Ron's friend who was a veteran, when he's talking about getting headaches. That's from Agent Orange exposure

I'm a veteran and luckily I still have all my arms and legs, but this movie shows the effect of war not just on the people who come home but on their families and friends as well. War sucks, it just sucks, and I was in tears more in this movie than any other. What gets me the most is his mum never looked at him the same again, but his dad loved him no matter what, and if my son were in that condition I'd be exactly the same

Tom Cruise was great in this. But, you are also seeing the BRILLIANCE in the mid to late eighties of Oliver Stone. He was without peer at that time: Wall Street, Platoon, JFK, and this one. It seemed like he reinvented the medium.

This movie is rough. When people try and talk shit about Tom as a legit actor, i ask them if they've seen this film. And don't judge me for this, but his performance is so incredible, that I'll cry and laugh in a matter of seconds. Particularly when he comes home drunk, and when he's upside down in his hospital bed. Brilliant acting.

Ron Kovic continued to be a voice of reason and remains so to this day.

“We’re 40 minutes into this video, he cannot die right now.” Dying would have been a luxury, with what he had to go through afterwards.