Ronald Lawrence Kovic is an American anti-war activist, author, and United States Marine Corps sergeant who was wounded and paralyzed in the Vietnam War. His 1976 memoir Born on the Fourth of July was made into the film of the same name which starred actor Tom Cruise as Kovic, and was co-written by Kovic and directed by Oliver Stone.
Ron Kovic at an anti-war rally in Los Angeles, California, on October 12, 2007.
Kovic (left) leading other disabled veterans after ending their 17-day hunger strike, March 1974
Kovic at the 62nd Academy Awards
An anti-war movement is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict. The term anti-war can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts, or to anti-war books, paintings, and other works of art. Some activists distinguish between anti-war movements and peace movements. Anti-war activists work through protest and other grassroots means to attempt to pressure a government to put an end to a particular war or conflict or to prevent it in advance.
Anti-war rally of schoolchildren in Pilathara, India
Rioters attack federal troops.
The Deserter by Boardman Robinson, The Masses, 1916
Protest at the White House by the American Peace Mobilization