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When Forrest was young he had braces on his legs and his mom ran a bed and breakfast. One of the patrons was non other than Elvis Presley, who went stayed there watched Forrest dance. Because of his leg braces he made weird moves with his legs which was made famous by Elvis. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1mvfc_elvis-presley-hound-dog_music
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Bear Bryant was a famous football coach for the University of Alabama. Forrest ran during a football practice while he was scouting and was recruited to play for the Alabama. Bryant retired with 6 National Championships, 13 conference championships, and 323 game wins.
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In 1963 a federal district court ordered that the University of Alabama admit African Americans. Being a southern state there was obviously a lot of push back from the public and the army had to attend to ensure the safety of the new students. http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement/videos/george-wallace-opposes-integration
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Forrest met President Kennedy because he was a player for the All-American football team. Later that year Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.
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During his time in Vietnam he saved many people from dying when they were attacked. Because of this he received the medal of honor from LBJ, who got most of the heat for the Vietnam War. Later that day he made a speech at an Anti-war protest.
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The war in Vietnam was between the Soviet backed North Vietnam and the United States backed South Vietnam, or communism vs. capitalism. The war was very controversial in the US and caused lots of protests and politcal tensions. The US ultimetly withdrew from Vietnam, losing the war.
http://www.artistdirect.com/video/billy-joel-goodnight-saigon/152195 -
Although no one in the room was playing attention, the news of the first moon landing was being broadcast across the nation. This was a significant point in history because the United States was the first nation to put people on the moon. Because of this, many people believe America won the space race. http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/1969-moonlanding-vin
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When Forrest met President Nixon he put him in the Watergate hotel. That night he called complaining of flashlights shining. He didn't realize that this was the infamous Watergate break in. There was a break in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters and the Nixon administration attempted to cover it up. This led to Nixon's resignation and the extreme loss of trust from the public.
http://www.authentichistory.com/1961-1974/6-nixon/3-watergate/popculture/19730000_At_The_Watergate -
Hurricane Carmen was the most intense tropical storm of 1974. The Category 4 hurricane left crops destroyed and many people were killed. In the movie, Forrest and Lt. Dan were out at sea and were the only shrimping boat left standing, which set off their company.
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In 1975 Apple was just a small computer company. Lt. Dan invests some of the companies money into it and it really takes off, increasing Forrest's income tremendously, Apple has made amazing improvements in technology and other fields,
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In the 1980's a new disease was spreading like wildfire and killing millions of people. First only prominent in gay males, the disease eventually spread to females and then transferred to their children. Doctors didn't understand the disease and people didn't know how it was spread so many people infected were isolated from friends and family. In the movie, Jenny has the virus and eventually dies. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/aids/view/
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In 1981, someone attempted to kill our new president. In the movie, the event is on TV when Forrest gets the call that his mother is dying during this. After the attempt, Reagan still was pro-guns and thought people still had the right to own them
