A Real Medal of Honor
One of the many amazing things about the movie was how they made it look like Forrest was really a part of real-life historical events. Like when Forrest meets Lyndon B. Johnson to receive his Medal of Honor for bravery in Vietnam. That bit of real video came from the 1968 ceremony of Sammy L. Davis, who really did receive the prestigious award for his service in Vietnam.
Source: The Unwritten Record – National Archives
Hanks’s face was digitally placed onto Davis’s body to give the illusion that he was standing face-to-face with President Johnson. They did a good job. Well done crew!
Random fact: Lyndon Baines Johnson, referred to as LBJ, served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He assumed the presidency after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.