Forrest Gump: Does he exist in reality?

There are some movies that touch you so deeply that you want to find out if it has some real-life allusions. Forrest Gump, directed by Robert Zemeckis narrating the story of a man by the same name, is one such movie. Released on July 6, 1994, the critically-acclaimed film created a lot of stir because of real-life incidences mentioned in its storyline. Tom Hanks even won the best actor Acadamy Award for his portrayal of Forrest Gump. Are you also curious if the character of Forrest Gump was real? Let’s find out!  

Forrest Gump: Fact or fiction? 
The movie, based on a 1986 novel by Winster Groom, captured some critical moments from American history. The protagonist Gump did it all, starting from meeting three US presidents, and inspiring the phenomenal British singer and song-writer John Lennon to fighting in the Vietnam war. He is also shown to have competed in a ping pong championship against China. Forrest did it all without giving it so much as a thought. The historical facts mentioned in the movie are real to a certain extent, such as the Vietnam War. However, the character of Grump was not inspired by any one single man. Groom based this eccentric and slow-witted character on people close to him.  

The inspirations 
The most important person, who was Groom’s inspiration for the character of Forrest Grump was Sammy Lee Davis, a Vietnam War survivor and veteran. The story of Groom’s protagonist fighting in the Vietnam war is similar to what Davis experienced. The footage shown in the movie where Grump receives the Medal of Honour from the president is for real. The face of Tom Hanks was superimposed over Sammy Lee Davis’s in the photograph shown in the movie, who did receive the Medal in real life!  

The other two people who inspired the character of are Jimbo Meador and George Radcliff. These were the friends of Groom. In the second half of the movie, Grump owns a Shrimp company. Meador, who owned a boat and worked in a seafood processing company, was the inspiration. The unique speech pattern of Grump, on the other hand, is inspired by Radcliff. He had a similar pattern of talking, with a heavy southern American accent.  

Fact folio 

• The scenes portraying Vietnam war in the movie were shot in South Carolina, USA. Many of it have CGI. 
• The iconic place where Grump used to sit and wait for the bus was not an actual park bench. It was a prop made of fibreglass bench that did the job. The scene in the movie became so famous that the bench is now kept in the Savannah History Museum.   
• When the character of Lieutenant Dan Taylor losses both his legs in the movie due to amputation, he had to use a special wheelchair that could hide both his legs. A famous magician and master of illusions, Rick Jay, made the wheelchair used in the movie. The scene where Taylor was shown without his legs was shot flawlessly with the help of the wheelchair. 
• There are iconic running scenes in the movie by Tom Hanks which people still talk about. But did you know that Tom Hanks's younger brother, Jim Hanks did some of the running scenes? He acted as a body double for Tom Hanks! But nobody could spot the difference. 
• The movie itself went on to bag a total of six Academy Awards including the Best Picture, Best Director for Robert Zemeckis, Best Actor for Hanks, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Visual Effects, and Best Film Editing.