Ron Kovic

Ronald Lawrence Kovic (born July 4, 1946) is an American anti-war activist, author, and United States Marine Corps sergeant who was wounded and paralyzed in the Vietnam War. His best selling 1976 memoir Born on the Fourth of July was made into the 1989 film of the same name which starred Tom Cruise as Kovic and was co-written by Kovic and directed by Oliver Stone.

Kovic received the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay on January 20, 1990, 22 years to the day after his being wounded in Vietnam. The work was also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and the Writers Guild of America Award.