In October 1967 , Ron is now a Marine sergeant on a reconnaissance mission in Vietnam , during his second tour of duty . He and his unit kill a number of Vietnamese villagers after mistaking them for enemy combatants . After encountering enemy fire , they flee the village and abandon its sole survivor , a crying baby . During the retreat , Ron accidentally kills Wilson , a young private in his platoon . He reports the action to his superior , who ignores the claim and advises him not to say anything else . In January 1968 , Ron is critically wounded during a firefight , but is rescued by a fellow Marine . Paralyzed from the mid-chest down , he spends several months in recovery at the Bronx Veterans Hospital in New York . The hospital 's conditions are poor ; the doctors and nurses ignore patients , abuse drugs , and operate using old equipment . Against his doctors ' requests , Ron desperately tries to walk again with the use of braces and crutches , only to damage his legs and confine himself permanently to a wheelchair . In 1969 , Ron returns home and turns to alcohol after feeling increasingly neglected and disillusioned . During an Independence Day parade , Ron is asked to give a speech , but is unable to finish after he hears a crying baby in the crowd and has a flashback to Vietnam . Ron visits Donna in Syracuse , New York , where the two reminisce . While attending a vigil for the victims of the Kent State shootings , they are separated when Donna and other protestors are taken away by police for demonstrating against the Vietnam War . In Massapequa , a drunken Ron has a heated argument with his mother , and his father decides to send him to Villa Duce ( Village of the Sun ) , a Mexican haven for wounded Vietnam veterans . He has his first sexual encounter with a prostitute , whom he falls for until he sees her with another customer . Ron befriends Charlie , another paraplegic , and the two decide to travel to another village after getting kicked out of a bar . After annoying their taxicab driver , they are stranded on the side of the road and argue with each other . They are picked up by a truck driver who takes them back to Villa Duce
Kent State shootings
Kent State shootings
Born on the Fourth of July (film)