What most Viet-Nam veterans think about Jane Fonda is expressed in a number of products sold by D & G Enterprises, Thats all the ground troops were going home. Jane Fonda sparked outrage among war veterans when she was pictured sitting on an anti-aircraft gun in 1972 during the Vietnam War, earning her the nickname Hanoi Jane. Her attackers renewed an old strike against the image of an actress who grew up as the daughter of the All-American Henry Fonda, yet became synonymous with the various rebellions of the Sixties. I spent many years its when I made coming home talking to American soldiers, who had been in Vietnam and the things they told me were heartbreaking. Her lawsuit started it all: Former Fox host Gretchen Carlson claims Ailes repeatedly sexually harassed her. . So did Joan Baez and William Sloane Coffin, Noam Chomsky and Pete Seeger, Rennie Davis and Judy Collins. It has simply been repeated over and over again, without proof, and duplicated on a number of websites. And, you know, I think they thought, Oh, shes this white privilege rich, famous daughter of all of that stuff. _taboola.push({ So setting aside the issue of whether plastic surgery has anything to do with Vietnam, is Kelly right about Fondas record? Outside of herself, she was manipulated by the experts in the Communist government who are masters in the art of propaganda. Otherwise, she wouldn't touch a weapon if she was genuinely anti-war. The reason Jane Fonda went to Vietnam was not wrong as Mr. Sollinger put it but the way she behaved while in Vietnam was unappropriate. In 1972, Fonda toured North Vietnam, where she spoke against U.S. military policy in the country. Number two: You've got the POW meeting, where she sits down and holds a press conference for propaganda purposes with these prisoners of war. She went to tour the countrys dike system, which was rumored to have been intentionally bombed by American forces something the U.S. government to this day forcefully denies. Its going to look like I was trying to shoot down U.S. planes! She visited Russia in the early Sixties, and was personally impressed by the deference she received. However, it was a bit too long, and Dr. Shenkman needed it shortened in the interest of time. Fonda wasnt deterred. I think so, and I would hope that all Americans will at least speak their minds at the movie box office and refuse to further enrich one of the greatest American traitors. Just before that experience, she said the words that continued to play through her head were: All men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. T. Jefferson. Jane Fonda came clean in an interview with Chris Wallace about her Hanoi Jane days and her failure as a mother. She did not merely criticize the authoritarian government of South Vietnam, or the dubious motives of powerful corporations that make up the American military-industrial complex. Heres how we saw the article we ran: It is a survey of the singular career of a woman who both drove and was driven by many of the largest social concerns of her era, and who came to embody some of them. But she was advised by other activists to focus her political energies, deciding to go all-in as an impassioned voice for the antiwar movement. ED GRUMMETT, USMC: The night before we made the landing at Chu Yuan (ph) we were listening to Hanoi Hannah and how they were going to annihilate us on the beach. I went to a session at the 2003 Peace History Society Conference in Mt. Heres Kellys take on what she called Fondas poor me routine. Fonda told the audience that their protests saddened her. In fact, when the Tet Offensive broke, Jane Fonda was the featured pinup girl in that months issue of Leatherneck , the official publication of the Marines. She was a symbol of a divided nation. During the visit she posed for several pictures. JANE FONDA: It was a terrible mistake. During her two-week stay, Fonda concluded that America was unjustly bombing farmland and areas far flung from military targets. It's not just handing out, you know, blankets. Ramsey Clark went to Hanoi during the war. CHRIS WALLACE: So when you say it was a terrible mistake. I am trying to show up now.. Of course, she was a Vietnamese. Forget? They realized that the war was wrong, that we werent wanted there. Heres a transcript of her remarks so you can judge for yourself. Mao Tse-Tung, of "Little Red Book" fame, and darling of the New York-Hollywood "elite", then proceeded to murder 65 million of his countrymen in what David Rockefeller and Zbigniew Brzezinski call "a glorious revolution." Why? Bates (private citizen), What do all you old sober sides make of this thesis? She still does not know what she did wrong. She went to tour the countrys But also admits to consulting with psychics. . After we published Peter Braunsteins article on Jane Fonda in our July/August issue, perhaps 60 people sent me this story. But the reality of it is, Alan, this is a woman,who I quite frankly feel sorry for. container: 'taboola-right-rail-thumbnails', re: Jane Fonda visiting BR this weekend Posted on 3/3/23 at 9:43 am to Chipand2Putts. "Because of this," the narrative continues, "I spent three days on a rocky floor on my knees with outstretched arms with a piece of steel placed on my hands, and beaten with a bamboo cane every time my arms dipped." But it wasnt untilshe traveled to Hanoi in July 1972 that she really enraged criticsand fundamentally altered how the world viewed her for decades to come. Support with a donation>>. Why are people more angry at Jane Fonda that they are against, say, Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon, the people really responsible? And it was a terrible mistake because of the image that it showed, which was not at all what the reality was. It was my mistake and I have paid and continue to pay a heavy price for it.. Joining us now is the host of "War Stories," who fought in Vietnam, Colonel Oliver North is with us. She said: I have very few regrets. It was to these traditional Americans, alienated by the Sixties, that the email was targeted, playing on their hopes that finally, at long last, Jane Fonda would have to answer for her choices. Johnson then ordered 165,000 U.S. forces under General Westmoreland to support a handful of American "advisors" previously ordered there by former President John F. Kennedy, Democrat. Jane didnt make her infamous and idiotic trip to Hanoi until 1972. Many Americans traveled to . I have great, great children, talented, smart, and I just didnt know how to do it. I get up, and as I start to walk back to the car with the translator, the implication of what has just happened hits me. Hanoi Jane told 60 Minutes that photos snapped while she sat on an enemy aircraft gun was a betrayal and the largest lapse of judgment I can imagine. Though she did say, meeting the locals, other artists, and intellectuals were well worth it. I mean, the reality is, there were 24,000 American troops on the ground in South Vietnam. Nevertheless, there are Vietnam veterans out there who served in the war zone before 1969 who are convinced that Jane Fonda was in cahoots with the Commies during their own tours. February 25, 2023 / Jack Marshall. Thats what made me laugh. CHRIS WALLACE: Who the people in the Nixon administration? Sending Out Veterans' Benefits, The Executive Branchs Response to the Flood of 1927, The Case For Calling the Language "American", America Fought Its Own Battle Over Books Before it Fought the Nazis. After we published Peter Braunsteins article on Jane Fonda in our July/August issue, perhaps 60 people sent me this story. In 2015, about 50 veterans stood outside theWeinberg Center for the Arts in Frederick, Md., to protest Fondas appearance there. When Jane Fonda Rocked the U.S. Army A newly exhumed documentary delves into the actresss anti-Vietnam vaudeville tour of American military bases in 1972. William Burkhead, a Democrat from Anne Arundel, said, I wouldnt want to kill her, but I wouldnt mind if you cut her tongue off, according to a Post story. Kelly attacked Fondas Vietnam War history to defend questions about plastic surgery. After all, she is an American; surely shell carry the message home to the families that their husband or son is alive. It was my mistake, and I have paid and continue to pay a heavy price for it. There's no denying that she defamed POWs by whitewashing the Viet Cong's treatment of them and later calling them liars when they spoke out." ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Heres the picture that was used to shut shut down American plants, critics, and there were millions of them, called you a Hanoi Jane and said you were a traitor. The 85-year-old Fonda has had a lengthy career as a Hollywood icon that includes her current turn in the film 80 For Brady, an equally long stint as an outspoken liberal, a fitness craze that began in the infancy of home video, and much more. quote: Fonda was a political activist in the counterculture era during the Vietnam War. Free subscription>>, Please consider a donation to help us keep this American treasure alive. But look, you have more to talk to us about something you're going to show us. [5] One man who was supposed to have encountered Jane Fonda, one Colonel Larry Carrigan, has denied any claim that he ever met her. For example, she went on Radio Hanoi a number of times, while our troops, your friends, were being shot at by an enemy in Vietnam, saying our POWs were in good health. All of the facts, in retrospect, lead to the conclusion that the U.S. government's purpose in dragging America into Korea was not to defeat communism but to kill as many Americans as possible in an ignoble defeat, get rid of the hero MacArthur as a possible presidential nominee, and lure a disillusioned America into acceptance of one world government. I did not know then. As Jane Fonda promotes her new film, "Monster-in-Law", its up to all of us to let our children know about the specific activities she undertook during the Vietnam War. I wanted to tell them what I was seeing as an American on the ground there. She posed on an anti-aircraft gun used to shoot down our American pilots. That begs the question, responsible for what? I think you'll find that those are things on a more personal level than stupdities and worse committed by LBJ, Congress, and Nixon. Fifty years later, he bears witness again. This is and now she's apologizing on a book tour. Shewas arrested before she got the chance, just as she had been at Fort Lewis, Wash., Fort Hood, Tex., and Fort Bragg, N.C. Fonda told The Post shed made talking to GIs herfull-time job. So I feel that well If I did was good, except that I shouldnt have set gone out to a military place. NORTH (on camera): What did the guys in your squad say about this? Market data provided by Factset. However, when my credibility is challenged, I will respond. . Whereupon Truman dismissed MacArthur for insubordination. Heres the picture that was used to shut shut down American plants, critics, and there were millions of them, called you a Hanoi Jane and said you were a traitor. How unfair! As the war raged, the one-time blonde bombshell cut her naturally brown hair short, trading sex appeal for liberal activism and rebranding herself as a political crusader against the war. The other stories allege a far more direct participation in war crimes on the part of Fonda. Her book just may not make the bestseller I mean, you know, of all manner of slings and arrows were thrown my way. Fonda told Wallace that she did not like the nickname she was given, but she stuck by her choice to oppose the war. Andrea Tantaros, former co-host of "The Five," filed a lawsuit saying that Fox News operated like a "sex-fueled, Playboy-Mansion-like cult.". She went to tour the countrys dike system, which was rumored to have been intentionally bombed by American forces something the U.S. government to this day forcefully denies. I plead with him, You have to be sure those photographs are not published. But newly discovered tapes tell a very, very different story. Rudi Bakhtiar jumped from CNN to Fox News in 2006. In her book, she says she's a Christian. Her rebellion against the foreign policies of the United States suggested to many outraged Americans that treason might have an All-American face, a familiar accent, and be closer to home than the Other that had previously been assumed to embody the enemy. In July of 1972, she made two trips to Hanoi which earned her the nickname Hanoi Jane. Stunning Black And White Photos of Van Nuys Boulevard In 1972 By Rick McCloskey, Pam Grier: 20 Photos of Beautiful Actress in the 1970s, 30 Photos That Show Fashion Styles Of Young Women In The 1970s, 30 Photos Of Barbi Benton In The 1970s And 80s, Babylonian Map of the World: The Oldest Map of the World, Most Impressive Armours With Attractive And Interesting Designs, Most Impressive Ancient Masks Created By Different Civilizations, Neverwas Haul: Victorian House On Wheels Inspired By Science Fiction Novels, Beachside Bathing Machines of Victorian England, The Evolution Of Women On The Cover Of Esquire Magazine. She said It is possible it was a setup, I will never know. She is the daughter of legendary actor and WWII Naval Officer Henry Fonda. It is possible that the Vietnamese had it all planned. His replacement, General Ridgway, said after the war: "The reason we didn't win is because I was under orders not to win". And I was I was like a limp noodle what I had experienced and what I had seen, I just I wasnt able to resist, they said were gonna take you out here today. The cover called her Ms. COLMES: She did say that she was sorry. I remember one retired lieutenant colonel describing a conversation he had with an angry trooper about the treasonous behavior of Jane Fonda in the midst of the 1968 Tet Offensive. [3] And she referred to the POW's as hypocrites and liars.[4]. LBJ and Congress share responsibility for the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, with its dubious basis, and everything that followed. }); We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. In July of 1972, she made two trips to JANE FONDA: Well, I didnt like it. For 70 years, American Heritage has been the leading magazine of U.S. history, politics, and culture. I mean, that's like the bank robber saying, "I'm sorry I got caught.". quote: Fonda was a political activist in the counterculture era during the And I don't NORTH: Well, that's not going to happen. CHRIS WALLACE: Your most famous protest was 50 years ago when you went to North Vietnam at the height of the war there. To begin with, the title is deliberately misleading: his real point has nothing to do with Jane Fonda. I said that the POWs claiming torture were liars, hypocrites, and pawns. These men were bombing and strafing and napalming the country, she said. It sounds loony until you actually think about it - and the general thesis of "no-win wars" (i.e. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/weekly/aa110399b.htm. How did we get into this war? And four months later, the bombing stopped of the dikes. OLIVER NORTH, HOST, "WAR STORIES": Actually, she's not really apologizing. You know, I have an organization in Georgia that deals with adolescents, and Ive studied parenting. She has said that she regrets doing this. And its about a woman who had a capacity for reinvention that, like Jay Gatsbys, was the more effective for her whole-souled belief in what she devised. This, probably more than anything, earned her the nickname Hanoi Jane.. Hows this for a story? I feel sorry for NORTH: She didn't apologize, Alan. I find that intolerable.. NORTH: These are the things that this woman did, and she has not apologized. ET!. You have "War Stories" coming up. : Yes, that one story was true. All were hired by Roger Ailes, the former network boss who exited in August 2016 amid a sexual harassment scandal. But when you know why you did something, and youre willing to admit the mistakes that you made, but stand up for the things that you did that that mattered? I mean, he realized that . She was dubbed "Hanoi Jane" after traveling to the Communist capital. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Four die; one, Col. Larry Carrigan, survivesjust barely, but it is he who tells about the incident. ET! So I feel that well If I did was good, except that I shouldnt have set gone out to a military place. Among the products sold expressing veterans' disdain for Fonda are a variety of bumper stickers, envelope stickers, sew-on patches, but evidently D&G no longer carries my favorite Fonda item, a urinal pad depicting Jane Fonda's photograph. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. As I tell my students when we discuss the proper use of testimony, we probably ought not to listen to Jane Fonda on things dealing with foreign affairs but if our goal is to rid our aging bodies from the ravages of cellulite then Fonda can be considered an authority! But he never met Jane Fonda, and he has no idea how the maddening tale attached itself to him. This article was published more than4 years ago. He was Americas most famous pediatrician. I sang a song. Almost all the messages said we had no business writing about Fonda because she was a traitor. We once published an admiring profile of Benedict Arnoldwhose actions did the nation real damage in a way Fondas fulminations never couldand nobody made a peep. I mean, you know, of all manner of slings and arrows were thrown my way. Even she had to apologize years later for that gun picture, but not for the rest of it. The Washington Post spent that day with Fonda, following her and a dozen or so students to Fort Meade in Maryland, where they planned to hand out antiwar leaflets to soldiers. The financial elite then move into the vacuum, establish central banks, and issue debt-credit to the devastated populations. There was a real Colonel Carrigan, and he was a POW in Vietnam. Truman warned Chiang to integrate communists into China's nationalist government or American aid would be withdrawn.