The novel Born On The Fourth Of July is the personal narrative of Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic’s two tours of duty in America’s most protested conflict and his struggle to find the courage to come to terms with the betrayal of the war and his paralysis as a result of it. The book is filled with Kovic’s experiences during the war and those once home in a society he felt had betrayed him by involving itself in a conflict it did not intend to win. Kovic must slowly and painfully come to terms with his anger, his guilt and finding his way back to wholeness in a society that is ambivalent about its involvement in Vietnam. There are many contradictions of American culture expressed through Kovic’s experiences in the war and afterwards as a civilian. We find that war has nothing to do with patriotism and heroism, in fact it is nothing more than senseless destruction of human beings and property, human beings who have little choice regarding their involvement. Kovic originally felt he was doing something to be proud of by being a soldier, in fact it was as patriotic as an American could be and in spirit with serving the country in the manner hoped for by John F. Kennedy, “He wrote in his diary that night how proud he was to have been made the leader of the scouts, to be serving America in this its most critical hours, just like President Kennedy talked about. He might get killed, but so had a lot of Americans who had fought for democracy. It was very important to be there putting his life on the line, to be going out on patrol and lying in the raid for Sparky the barber and God and the rest” (185).
However, Kovic eventually understands he is not doing something of which he is proud. It is all killing and blood and senseless death, and, in fact, no American lives were in jeopardy because of Vietnam except for the soldiers drafted to fight a war that many believe should never hav
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