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Courage Under Fire is a 1996 American war drama film directed by Edward Zwick, and starring Denzel Washington and Meg Ryan. It is the second collaboration between Washington and director Zwick.
The film was released by 20th Century Fox in the United States on July 12, 1996, to positive reviews and grossed $100 million worldwide. It was also the first movie to be produced by Fox 2000 Pictures two years after the company was established in 1994.
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Plot
While serving in the Persian Gulf War, Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel Serling fires on and destroys one of his own tanks during a confusing nighttime battle, killing his friend, Lieutenant Tom Boylar. The United States Army covers up the friendly fire incident, awards Serling a Silver Star, and transfers him to a desk job.
Later, Serling is assigned to determine if, posthumously, Captain Karen Walden should be the first woman to receive the Medal of Honor. She was the commander of a Medevac Huey helicopter sent to rescue the crew of a shot-down Black Hawk helicopter. When Walden encountered an enemy T-54 tank, her crew destroyed it by dropping a fuel bladder onto the tank and igniting it with a flare gun. Her own helicopter was shot down soon after. The two crews were unable to join forces, and when the survivors were rescued the next day, Walden was reported dead.
