As a schoolboy growing up in Greenbow, Alabama, Forrest Gump had to wear braces on his legs and was considered to be intellectually subnormal. However his mother tried to make him feel he was no different from anyone else. His only friend is Jenny, whose father violently abuses her. He discovers he has the ability to run fast and makes it to his college team and then the All-American Heroes team, after which he meets President Kennedy. He joins the army and in Vietnam, singlehandedly rescues his unit during an attack, although his best friend Bubba dies in his arms and his unit leader Lt Dan Taylor loses his legs. While recuperating in hospital, Gump discovers he has a talent for table tennis. Back in the US, he is decorated by President Johnson. He meets up with Jenny, now a hippy, at a peace rally. After a career as a professional ping pong player and meeting President Nixon, he buys a shrimp boat and together with Lt Dan, becomes a millionaire. However, he still longs for Jenny, who is leading a hedonistic lifestyle in California.