An incredable story of Ron Kovac (Tom Cruise) a young boy who lives a simple catholic life and wants to fight in vietnam for his country. He goes over seas and ins up accidentally killing civillians and one of his own men. He gets his leg shot up and looses the feeling in them. from being neglected in the hospital breaking his leg trying to walk, and finding out he can't have kids he begins to loose his mind. months after being in the hellish hospital he returns home to a different home then he remembers. with all the anti-war protesting going on and the riots he begins to struggle mentally with all that went on in Vietnam.trying to look past what happened over there and his physical disabilities he goes off the deep end and has to get away from every thing that is going on in America. Ron goes to Mexico where he finds other veterans who are having the same types of problems and begins to disagree with what is going on over there, and begins to faces his fear and visits the home of the young soldier he accidentally killed. He begins to start protesting agianst the war and agianst Nixon In a climactic scene during a speech in the Presidental run. He writes a book after the protesting called Born on the Fourth of July thus were the movie originates. He states at the end during a debate supporting his book that it his the first time he feels like he's home. A magnificent movie, truly moving, deffinately one of Oliver Stone's best movies. Tom Cruise was AMAZING. (War violence, disterbing content, sexual content, and strong language).