<P> In June 1972, Forrest was invited with the US Ping Pong team to the White House, where he meets President Richard Nixon, who offers him a room to stay in at Watergate Hotel . That night, Forrest was awakened by a group of people with flashlights breaking into an unlit office . Mistaking it for a power outage, Forrest calls security guard Frank Wills to inform him about the break - in, inadvertently initiating the Watergate Scandal and leading to Richard Nixon's resignation in August 1974 . In that same year, Forrest was honorably discharged from the Army with the rank of Sergeant . </P> <P> Upon his return in August 1974, Forrest finds his Greenbow house filled with memorabilia capitalizing on his fame as a ping - pong player in China . At his mother's insistence, Forrest made $25,000 endorsing a brand of ping - pong paddles, and used most of the money to travel to Bubba's hometown of Bayou La Batre and purchase a boat . When someone pointed out it was bad luck to have a boat without a name, Forrest names his boat after Jenny, which he calls, "The most beautiful name in the whole wide world ." Unbeknownst to Forrest, Jenny had descended into a life of drugs and sexual promiscuity at this point, and even contemplated suicide over her choices . </P> <P> Later Forrest was visited by Lieutenant Dan who, just as he said he would do on New Year's Eve of 1971, had come to be Forrest's first mate . For several weeks, the two had no luck catching shrimp . However, things changed when the area was hit by Hurricane Carmen . Forrest's boat was the only one left standing and they found themselves with a monopoly of shrimp . Under the name Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, they soon became very wealthy . Apparently having faced his demons during the storm, Lieutenant Dan thanked Forrest for saving his life in Vietnam, and Forrest assumes that Dan (without actually saying so) made peace with God . </P> <P> Forrest returned home to Greenbow in September 1975 when he learned his mother was dying of cancer . After her death, Forrest stays and leaves his shrimping industry in the hands of Lieutenant Dan and retired to mowing and cutting grass and lawns, as he apparently enjoys doing it . Meanwhile, Lieutenant Dan participated in a substantial investment into what Forrest says to be "some kind of fruit company ." In reality, the company was the fledgling Apple Computer . With the money he got from the Apple Computer investment, Forrest spent them on renovating the church he frequents, establishing a medical center at Bubba's hometown and gave Bubba's family Bubba's share of the investment money that is enough for them to never work again . </P>

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