A Salute to Veteran Ron Kovic on a Tragic 40th Anniversary

My childhood hometown of Massapequa, NY was the breeding ground for future international celebrities like Jerry Seinfeld, Brian Setzer, and the four Baldwin brothers, who were my classmates at Alfred G. Berner High. Of course, this is all a source of pride for those of us who grew up in this special Long Island town in the 1960s and 1970s.

But the one Massapequa native who stands out as a true American hero is Ron Kovic. And today, I salute him as he marks the 40th anniversary (on January 20th, 2008) of the dark day in Vietnam when a bullet severed his spinal cord and left him paralyzed from the chest down. I'll never forget that as a junior or senior in high school, I did a book report on his new book called "Born on the Fourth of July". (This was 10 or 11 years before Tom Cruise portrayed him in the movie version of the book so Ron Kovic wasn't yet well known across the U.S.). At the time, Ron was teaching at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and I decided to send him my book report. He sent it back with very kind words..inspiring words for someone who was about to embark on a career as a journalist.

Today, I salute Ron Kovic once again. Not just because he fought for my country in Vietnam, but because he continues to speak out against the thousands of American casualties in Iraq and in support of his fellow Vets now returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2007, Ron fell ill and once again had to enter a Veteran's Administration hospital, this time in California. Sadly, he reported that little has changed in our VA hospitals since the time he was in a Bronx, NY VA hospital in the late 1960s and early 1970s. His moving video on the subject can be found here.

Make no mistake about it: Ron Kovic was ready to fight for this country and was ready to die for this country when he enlisted in the service in 1964. But this country turned its back on him and so many other Vets 40 years ago, just like our current government, for the most part, has not given war veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan adequate healthcare and financial support.

In 1976, Ron wrote this in the beginning of his book:

"I am the living death

the memorial day on wheels

I am your yankee doodle dandy

your john wayne come home

your fourth of july firecracker

exploding in the grave"

And here's why he wrote the book:

"I wanted them to know what it really meant to be in a war — to be shot and wounded, to be fighting for my life on the intensive care ward — not the myth we had grown up believing....."

It's clear that with these words, Ron Kovic speaks for many new Veterans, many young enough to be his grandchildren.

I salute you, Ron, for your service, for telling the truth about war, for shouting down President Nixon, for your continual fight on behalf of your brothers, and for exemplifying what it means to be a patriot.

Ron Kovic's moving and painfully honest story from Born on the Fourth of July should have been a lesson for those who pushed to start and continue the long war in Iraq without adequate intelligence, without an adequate war plan, and without a realistic exit strategy. Hopefully, the next President will read this book and learn from it. And, hopefully, those brave men and women who come home injured will be inspired by it.

Note: If you want to help the current veterans, you might consider the Wounded Warrior Project.

Comments

[Tony]

Thank you for such a wonderful tribute to such a wonderful man. God bless you and Mr. Kovic, and I pray that one day others will listen and understand the horrors of what they are doing.

[Raymond T. Bartus, Ph.D.]

Hi, I have written a short book of poems and poetic essays, the foremost of which honors the life and spiritual transformation of Ron Kovic. I would love to send him a complimentary copy. Do you know how I can do this, even if indirectly via an agent or manager?

Thank you for any assistance you might provide. Ron is a hero to many of us and I honestly feel he would appreciate receiving this from me.

Sincerly,

Raymond T. Bartus, Ph.D.

The way I see it our entire Nation needs a Correction and the public has to be re-educated to start participating more in the political process. We need to forge that new Society that we all dream of, the one in which the needs of the population are being served and not those of the bureaucrats and special interest groups. The "We The People" is the part of our Constitution that tells of the Constraints the people can place on the government for those elected today are very corrupt and doing as they please. Our filtered media is not telling us the truth and in order for a Constitutional Republic to survive it needs true Freedom of the Press. We need a press that is not afraid to discuss harsh realities and one that could openly have debate and discuss all matters affecting the health and the progress of the Republic. Long gone are the days in which Senators would openly give speeches and would stand on street corners speaking openly of matters that affected the well-being of their constituents. The War will rage on and on and only sound bites of justice and truth may surface until America wakes-up and just start a new American Revolution. It's sad that the corruption, lies, dis-information, election fraud, and massive bought out media has gone that far that the only hope that we may see is that of Americans taking to the streets and to vote out all representatives out of office. However, the powers that be already have through back door legislations and new laws ways in which to deal with dissent. For we are not supposed to be merging with governments of other nations but being done covertly via the www.spp.gov and other such programs that hope to pass the power to non-elected officials and bypassing the electorate or direct constraints of the People. In Europe it was called the "common market" here it is being called the "the security and prosperity Partnership" which like in Europe later became a Union as in the "European Union" so then we should ask ourselves, Who are we truly dying for in War, the well-being of our Nation, people and prosperity or those of bureaucrats, elites and international banks for a North American Union. A Union? as in Canada, Mexico, and US and then to whom to we pledge Alligiance? To Amexicanada? and "We The People of the Amexicanada pledge to "bureacrats of the NAU"? and to the non-republic for which we stand? This was like many other wars funded by banks with fiat currency and money and debt have no mother land. So, yes our soldiers go to war with noble love of country and that which is the American dream and we thank our great brave soldiers for that, however today we need to make intelligent decisions and take back our country hopefully not yet by revolution but by participating in the political process. Just like a ship that has been taken over by Pirates, we need to not jump ship but stay fighting back until once again we can all navigate on safe waters and get rid of the invading pirates.