After watching the majority of Oliver Stone’s movie “Born on the Fourth of July” during class, I grew curious as to the exact period of time when the real Ron Kovic transformed from an almost war-obsessed man, to a person that protests the wars. I completed some research online and found an interview with the real Ron Kovic that lead me to some answers.
Based on his interview, it seems that Ron Kovic was fine with the idea of war until he was injured. Kovic even illustrated his original love for war when he returned to Vietnam for a second tour in 1968. However, in his interview he seems disgusted with the way various hospitals treat their war patients. As seen in the movie, Kovic wanted to see a doctor while strapped to his bed, but the doctors took hours to respond to his request, and Kovic was left alone begging to be attended to. Based on Kovic’s interview, it is suggested that very similar situations to this occurred in his real war experience.
Kovic then states that he was recently in a hospital, and saw two wounded Iraq War soldiers in a room close to his. He discusses the fact that these men were treated in similar poor conditions as he was during the Vietnam War. After seeing these two soldiers, Kovic declares that if people volunteer to sacrifice their lives for their country, they should at least be treated and cared for with respect when they return home. He then mentions that with the enormous sums of money the country spends on wars, the soldiers should be well cared for when they are wounded.
Also seen in the movie, there was a hospitalized solider complaining about a rat in the hospital. While I watched this scene, I originally thought the rat beside the soldier’s bed may have been an exaggeration of the poor conditions in the hospital, however, after doing further research, it seems that problems such as these exist even in modern times. An online article mentions Jeremy Duncan an Iraq Army Specialist who broke his neck. After staying in the hospital, he states, "The conditions in the room ... were ... unforgivable... It wasn't fit for anybody to live in a room like that” (Duncan).
Based on all of this information, it seems that war can only be justified if soldiers are treated with respect when they return home injured. According to Duncan, the United States is currently in a war in which this is not happening. I believe the country should use more of the war budget for the wounded soldiers instead of more weapons or war equipment.
1 comment:
I completely agree with you. The U.S. government is prioritizing the purchase of materials for wars that would not be possible without the soldiers. The soldiers are risking their lives and recieving attention and praise for it, until they are injured. They are then sent to less-than-adequate hospitals where they are hidden from the rest of the world. As if they have not experienced enough trajedy in the combat of the war, itself. They still are forced to stay in horrible conditions to recover. It seems that their suffering from the war will never end.
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