Editing Forrest Gump (section)

== Plot ==
<!-- Per [[WP:FILMPLOT]], film plot summaries should be between 400 and 700 words.-->
In 1981, a feather lands at a bus stop in [[Savannah, Georgia]], where a man named Forrest Gump recounts his life story to strangers who sit next to him on a bench.

In the 1950s, in Greenbow, [[Alabama]], young Forrest is fitted with [[Orthotics|leg braces]] to correct [[Scoliosis|a curved spine]], and cannot walk properly. He lives alone with his mother, who runs a boarding house out of their home that attracts many tenants, including a young [[Elvis Presley]], who plays the guitar for Forrest and incorporates Forrest's jerky dance movements into his performances. On his first day of school, Forrest meets a girl named Jenny Curran, and the two become best friends.

Forrest is often bullied because of his physical disability and low intelligence. While fleeing from several bullies, his leg braces break off, revealing Forrest to be a very fast runner. This talent eventually allows him to receive a [[American football|football]] [[scholarship]] at the [[University of Alabama]] in 1963, where he is coached by [[Bear Bryant]], and witnesses [[List of governors of Alabama|Governor]] [[George Wallace]]'s [[Stand in the Schoolhouse Door]], during which he returns a dropped book to [[Vivian Malone Jones]]. Forrest becomes a top [[kick returner]], is named to the [[College Football All-America Team|All-American team]], and meets President [[John F. Kennedy]] at the [[White House]].

After graduating college in 1966, Forrest enlists in the [[U.S. Army]]. During basic training, he befriends a fellow soldier named Benjamin Buford "Bubba" Blue, who convinces Forrest to go into the [[shrimping]] business with him after their service. In 1967, they are sent to [[Vietnam War|Vietnam]], serving with the [[9th Infantry Division (United States)|9th Infantry Division]] in the [[Mekong Delta]] region. After months of routine operations, their platoon is ambushed while on patrol, and Bubba is killed in action. Forrest saves several wounded platoon mates{{snd}}including his lieutenant, Dan Taylor, who loses both his legs. Gump is awarded the [[Medal of Honor]] for his heroism by President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]].

At the [[Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War|anti-war]] [[March on the Pentagon]] rally, Forrest meets [[Abbie Hoffman]] and briefly reunites with Jenny, who has been living a [[hippie]] lifestyle. He also develops a talent for [[ping-pong]], and becomes a sports celebrity as he competes against Chinese teams in [[ping-pong diplomacy]], earning him an interview alongside [[John Lennon]] on ''[[The Dick Cavett Show]]'', influencing the song "[[Imagine (John Lennon song)|Imagine]]". He spends the 1971 New Year's Eve in New York City with Dan, who has become deeply embittered. Forrest soon meets President [[Richard Nixon]], who grants him a room in the [[Watergate complex|Watergate Hotel]], where he unwittingly exposes the [[Watergate scandal]].

Discharged from the Army, Forrest returns to Greenbow and endorses a company that makes ping-pong paddles. He uses the earnings to buy a shrimping boat in [[Bayou La Batre]], fulfilling his promise to Bubba. Dan joins Forrest in 1974, and they initially have little success. After their boat becomes the only one to survive [[Hurricane Carmen]], they pull in huge amounts of shrimp and create the ''Bubba Gump Shrimp Company'', after which Dan rediscovers happiness and thanks Forrest for saving his life. Forrest returns home to his mother as she dies of [[cancer]]. Dan invests in [[Apple Inc.]] and the two become millionaires, but Forrest also shares their earnings with the community and Bubba's family.

In 1976, Jenny returns to stay with Forrest, recovering from years of child abuse, drugs, and prostitution. After a while, Forrest proposes to her. She tells Forrest she loves him and the two have sex, but she leaves the next morning. Heartbroken, Forrest goes running and spends the next three years in a relentless cross-country run, becoming famous again before returning to Greenbow.

In 1981, Forrest reveals that he is waiting at the bus stop because he received a letter from Jenny, who asked him to visit her. Forrest is finally reunited with Jenny, who introduces him to their son, Forrest Gump Jr. Jenny tells Forrest she is sick with an unknown incurable virus, and the three move back to Greenbow. Jenny and Forrest finally marry, but she dies a year later. Forrest sends his son off on his first day of school as the feather floats in the wind.