RON KOVIC was a U.S. Marine who served two tours of duty in the Vietnam War where he was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. In combat on January 20 1968 he suffered a spinal cord injury which left him paralized from the chest down. He became one of the best known peace activists among the veterans of the war.

Ron Kovic was born on July 4, 1946, in Ladysmith, Wisconsin and grew up in Massapequa, New York. His autobiography, Born on the Fourth of July, was adapted as an Academy Award winning film directed by Oliver Stone and starring Tom Cruise as Kovic. Academy Award winning Actress Jane Fonda has stated that Ron Kovic’s story was the inspiration for her film Coming Home.

Bobby Muller, Bill Wieman, Mark Clevinger, and Ron Kovic were criticized by Republicans at the 1972 Republican National Convention. Kovic was a speaker at the 1976 Democratic National Convention.

During the filming of his autobiography Ron reconciled with his parents. In November 2003 he joined protests in London against the visit of George W. Bush and remains an outspoken critic of the Iraq War.

FRANK CAVESTANI was raised in New York City. He made his theatrical debut as Shelley Winters’ co-star in James Bridge’s “Days of the Dancing.” Broadway audience saw him in June Havoc’s “Marathon ’33.” Off-Broadway, he triumphed in Gregory Rozakis’ “Orestes” and Murray Medick’s “Are You Looking?” Frank moved into motion pictures and television as a star and co-star, co-starring on CBS’ “Defenders” with E.G. Marshall when he was still in his teens and in Andy Warhol’s wild epic “Women In Revolt” with the brilliant Candy Darling.

Frank became involved in videotape productions and screen writing. In the early seventies, he was project director for Space Video, a company which produced experimental and educational videotapes; and for Deafness Research helped develop the insertion of signing in the television image. He later became a producer/director for MPCS Communications doing commercial videotape production for such clients as Vidal Sassoon, BBD&O, J. Walter Thompson, and the U.S. Postal Service.

Frank produced and directed his own film, “Operation Last Patrol,” a one-hour documentary about the exploits of Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic and won an award at the Popoli Film Festival in Italy and the Leipzig Film Festival in Germany; and in now part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern art in New York. He later became a technical advisor on Oliver Stone’s feature film “Born on the Fourth of July” about Ron Kovic.

He also co-produced, wrote and directed “Supervision,” with Harold Ramis, Billy Murray and Michael Shamberg, a 17-part historical comedy series, for KCET and “Gerald Ford’s” America,”, a 4-part documentary, for PBS. Frank had directed over fifty documentaries of performances from Lincoln Center to Off-Broadway, theater, concerts and ballets, to prime time comedy series “Head of the Class”, for network television. His video work has been shown in museums internationally including: The Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Caracas, Venezuela, and Long Beach Museum of Art, in California.

Frank’s screen writing talents can be seen on television on CBS’s movie “Sentimental Journey” starring Jaclyn Smith and David Dukes. Currently Frank is still acting, writing and doing television production; and living with his wife Jade and his young daughter Samantha in Hollywood, California.

Both Ron and Frank will be at the memorial event of the Kent State shootings that occurred on May 4th, 1970.

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