CNN anchorChris Wallace grilled Hollywood legend and activist Jane Fonda over her controversial visit to North Vietnam that caused millions to dub her Hanoi Jane, and got a full spectrum response on the subject. In 2015, about 50 veterans stood outside theWeinberg Center for the Arts in Frederick, Md., to protest Fondas appearance there. In another she was looking into the NORTH: As a matter of fact, no. Those words were written by Michael Benge, a civilian advisor captured by the Viet Cong in 1968 and held as a POW for 5 years. container: 'taboola-right-rail-thumbnails', COLMES: She did say that she was sorry. They realized that the war was wrong, that we werent wanted there. Listen closely. target_type: 'mix' WebNevertheless, 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 I am going to let the extract stand as it is, containing just enough truth to be uncomfortable, I think. Jane Fonda was on 3 times this week talking about her new book. And heres Cat Ballou, the beautiful daughter of Young Abe Lincoln, of Mister Roberts, beaming down from a machine designed to kill them. He collects a group of American POWs from their septic dungeons, cleans them up, and has them mustered on parade to show his guest how well his embattled nation treats its prisoners. Dr. Rockefeller certainly did not defend Communism as a "Jewish" system, since it is the Hebrew Bible that was the basis of our Common Law, and hence much of our Constitutional Order. And, you know, I think they thought, Oh, shes this white privilege rich, famous daughter of all of that stuff. As anyone who knew or worked with me in those years knows my heart has always been with the soldiers. Which goes to reinforce the old adage that no one is truly a waste of skin. Fonda addresses the media in December 1972 to protest U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War. But https://twitter.com/MegynTODAY/status/955454505067470848. There was a real Colonel Carrigan, and he was a POW in Vietnam. She still does not know what she did wrong. But he never met Jane Fonda, and he has no idea how the maddening tale attached itself to him. So did Joan Baez and William Sloane Coffin, Noam Chomsky and Pete Seeger, Rennie Davis and Judy Collins. No article of ours gets hundreds of letters, but this one did, very few of them friendly. The "advisors" assisted inept South Vietnamese in their ongoing war against the North Vietnamese, who also happened to be communists. Pleasant Michigan, where Mary Hersberger (Capital University) and Jerry Kembcke (Holy Cross College) both gave papers on Fonda. Id been getting pretty sour about the incensed patriots who would curse me and my family and confidently speak on behalf of all veterans living and dead, and the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress, to declare I was a disgrace to America for running that storythen conclude by smugly assuring me they would never read it. Content and Programming Copyright 2005 Fox News Network, L.L.C. One of the definitions of treason is giving aid and comfort to the enemy. 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. No license is granted to the user of this material except for the user's personal or internal use and, in such case, only one copy may be printed, nor shall user use any material for commercial purposes or in any fashion that may infringe upon Fox News Network, L.L.C. 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. You know, we can we can scare her, and boy did they try? SEAN HANNITY, CO-HOST: Jane Fonda says she is sorry for some of her actions during the Vietnam War. I mean, he realized that . For a great many people, its not enough that Jane Fonda went to North Vietnam, offered encouragement to an army that was daily killing her countrymen, climbed up on that anti-aircraft gun, insisted that all American prisoners were well treated, and so on. But because of the nature of Vietnam, McNamara said to me, if wed known what we know now it would have we should not have gone out. Nobody remembers, nobody cares. Free subscription>>, Please consider a donation to help us keep this American treasure alive. And that we probably couldnt win it not because they werent a fabulous soldiers. However, the allegation that she abused American POWs is not true. 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. I mean, the fact is, there's no statute on treason, by the way. You know, we can we can scare her, and boy did they try? And I didnt even think and they sang me a song and Im made me laugh. I dont know what else to do. He collects a group of American POWs from their septic dungeons, cleans them up, and has them mustered on parade to show his guest how well his embattled nation treats its prisoners. Thus, Europe, Russia, China, Korea, Viet Nam, Cambodia, Thailand, Japan, the Middle East were turned into killing grounds, and their existing governments destroyed. I hardly even think about where I am sitting. Putnams Sons. War materiel, shipped via the Whereupon Truman dismissed MacArthur for insubordination. His alliance with the Reds made sense, since both upheld elite control of the world. She claimed she was sexually harassed by correspondent Brian Wilson and later spoke out against Fox News' culture after the Ailes scandal broke. [2] Peter Collier, The Fondas; A Hollywood Dynasty. He hadnt liked the story but at least was willing to discuss 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! So I feel that well If I did was good, except that I shouldnt have set gone out to a military place. She posed on an anti-aircraft gun used to shoot down our American pilots. HANNITY: That's quite often in my case, by the way. 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, that's what you and I do with our wives when we say something that we shouldn't have said. She was reportedly also an aspirant for a role on "Fox & Friends," the network's morning show. There's no statute of limitations on it. Kelly was defending herself after Fonda said over the weekend that the question was so inappropriate and that Kelly is not that good an interviewer.. It wasnt firing at the time, and Fonda said in 2011 she hardly even thought about where I was sitting and that itis possible that it was a set up, that the Vietnamese had it all planned.. 1972: 'Hanoi' Jane--Text from CNN.com, "Vietnam: Echoes of War, Cultural Timeline" Jane Fonda -- actress, political activist and partner of anti-war I mean, you know, of all manner of slings and arrows were thrown my way. Yeah, said my stepdaughter, Jill, when I told her about this. Four die; one, Col. Larry Carrigan, survivesjust barely, but it is he who tells about the incident. She has reportedly been shopping a tell-all book this year. She continued openly to question the accounts of the U.S. government and American POWs, who told devastating stories of the torture they endured at the hands of the North Vietnamese. 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. And, as she does, each POW palms her a scrap of paper with his Social Security number written on it. . "Flashpoint Vietnam," the real story about the road to the war. This weekend's special I mean, this is very moving. Screw you. Have a tip or story idea? Mr. Nolan wrote something that helped me better understand the fury of this sort of reaction. Even so, I'm going to keep an eye open to purchase one of the urinal mats with her photograph depicted upon it. Shewas active in the Black Panthers and marched for the rights of American Indians, soldiers and working mothers. It is possible that the Vietnamese had it all planned. She was young and famous at the time, maybe the Iraqi insurgents could get some of the present crop of empty headed celebrities, Britney Spears perhaps, to pose next to those Muslim mopes in robes and head towels while they aim their weapons. JANE FONDA: It was a terrible mistake. 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. I never asked pilots to desert. If I was used, I allowed it to happen. This, probably more than anything, earned her the nickname Hanoi Jane.. The great General Douglas MacArthur drove the North Koreans, led by Red Chinese NORTH (on camera): What did the guys in your squad say about this? Again and again against incredible odds, and at great cost in American casualties, U.S. forces stopped the enemy; but were prevented by President Truman from administering the coup de grace. Yeah, said my stepdaughter, Jill, when I told her about this. Even Trotsky, whose philosophy I do not advocate, could see this relationship between the capitalists and the communists clearly (hypocritically denouncing it, since he went along with it). Thats all the ground troops were going home. CHRIS WALLACE: Your most famous protest was 50 years ago when you went to North Vietnam at the height of the war there. 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. I mean, he realized that. One presumably claimed to have been struck by her, while another claimed to have had his confidence betrayed to his Communist captors. But because of the nature of Vietnam, McNamara said to me, if wed known what we know now it would have we should not have gone out. FONDA: I'm charging the government with genocide, with genocide. Once U.S. forces were committed in large numbers the U.S. federal government, as in Korea, prohibited them from attacking specified enemy sanctuaries (staging areas) into which the communists retreated, regrouped, re-armed and launched renewed attacks. 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. And the more they tried, the more. Fonda traveled to Hanoi, Vietnam, to protest the Vietnam War, but she did not do most of the things the post claims. Respected online resources such as Snopes, Truth Miners, and Urban Legends have all cited key persons in the infamous email as having refuted its claims. And that we probably couldnt win it not because they werent a fabulous soldiers. Now, I leave it NORTH: Well, yes, as a matter of fact I think she is. JANE FONDA: it was a mistake to go, I never wanted to go to any military installations. This story hearkens to a real visit to North Vietnam by Jane Fonda in July of 1972, but the stories about betraying POWs is not true. The Fonda trip became unforgettable because it infuriated Americans, especially Americans in uniform, many of whom still regard her as a traitor. If I was used, I allowed it to happen. Liberals in America's streets "protested" our victories and exulted in our defeats - thus, in patriots' eyes, giving the war a raison d'etre. Others were hoping to catch a glimpse of a famous Hollywood actress. Four die; one, Col. Larry Carrigan, survivesjust barely, but it is he who tells about the incident. Fondas transformation from actress to activist began several years earlier. Hows this for a story? To license content, please contact licenses [at] americanheritage.com. She has said that she regrets doing this. NORTH: Well, all I did was present the facts. Truman warned Chiang to integrate communists into China's nationalist government or American aid would be withdrawn. It never happened. GRUMMETT: Don't worry about it, you know? She visited Russia in the early Sixties, and was personally impressed by the deference she received. Tom Cotton Gets Revenge On Liberal Media: Acting like lawyers for Chinese communists, Joy Behar Shocks World, Defends Marjorie Taylor Greene On The View, Kellyanne Conway and George Conway To Divorce After 22 Years of Marriage: Report, He started crying like a baby that lost his pacifier: Florida Sheriff On Tough Guy Rapper Arrested For Murder, White House Doctor Drops Friday Bombshell: Joe Biden Has Cancerous Tissue Removed, Ted Cruz Calls For Anthony Fauci To Be Prosecuted And Jailed For Lying To Congress, Robert F. Kennedy Jr Puts Biden On Notice, Says Hes Thinking About Running Against Joe In Dem Primary. quote: Jane Fonda was more than just an actress born to a wealthy and prominent Hollywood family. It was my mistake, and I have paid and continue to pay a heavy price for it. So I feel that well If I did was good, except that I shouldnt have set gone out to a military place. 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." In 1972, the Academy Award-winning actress and activist traveled to North Vietnam and was photographed laughing and clapping along with Vietnamese soldiers. Joe? And I didnt even think and they sang me a song and Im made me laugh. . Thats what made me laugh. 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. America. The Ms. , we thought, would signal a bit of ironic distance from the broad, ingenu- ous affection contained in Miss America., It evidently didnt. She called our POWs hypocrites and liars and referred to their torture as understandable. Support with a donation>>. Bates (private citizen), What do all you old sober sides make of this thesis? Screw you. There is no doubt these treasonous no-win US wars were meant to disillusion the American nation into accepting loss of sovereignty and one world government." After we published Peter Braunsteins article on Jane Fonda in our July/August issue, perhaps 60 people sent me this story. WebDaughter of legendary Henry Fonda, actress, and activist was one of the most outspoken people against the Vietnam War at the age of 34. Considering the admonition about Caesar's wife, perhaps HNN should remove you as an intern. But now, very quickly, treason is the only crime defined in our Constitution. Subsequently communist China was awarded a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council, its most powerful chair. She called our president, according to this report, "a new type of Hitler," pilots "war criminals.". (Later, after 58,152 American dead were just names on a wall, declassified US Navy logs revealed there had been no torpedo attack!). The story surfaced on the Internet in 1999, and my guess is that it will live there a long time. WebJane Fonda & TheVietnam War. In Hanoi, Fonda also met with seven American POWs and later said they asked her to tell their friends and family to support presidential candidate George McGovern; they feared theyd never be freed during a Richard Nixon administration. However, since the majority of the stories cited in the e-mail have no proof behind them, I had to either give the e-mail "thumbs down" or "thumbs up" on the basis of the overall validity. After all, she is an American; surely shell carry the message home to the families that their husband or son is alive. The cover called her Ms. I think that there is a lot of selectivity going on. CHRIS WALLACE: Who the people in the Nixon administration? I should have been clearer that my anger back then was at the Nixon Administration. All rights reserved. As Pioneer Rap Trio Suffers Tragic Loss, Long-Awaited Back Catalog is Finally Released, Bret Baiers Interview With FBI Director Shows What A Joke It Is to Pose Him As Foxs Real Journalism Successor to Chris Wallace, Jimmy Kimmel Calls Tucker Carlson Putins Favorite Little Nesting Doll After He Accused Kimmel of Using Foreign Gov. To begin with, the title is deliberately misleading: his real point has nothing to do with Jane Fonda. "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." On a hot, stickyMay afternoon in 1970,a crowd of several thousand students and protesterstook over the University of Maryland mall. Legal Statement. I plead with him, You have to be sure those photographs are not published. Imagine its the Battle of the Bulge and Betty Grable is up on top of a German tank saying the Yanks are fighting an evil war. Its not a preposterous analogynot as far as the soldiers involved are concerned. Jane Fonda is a star of stage and screen whose career began in 1960. Why are people more angry at Jane Fonda that they are against, say, Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon, the people really responsible? I mean, the reality is, there were 24,000 American troops on the ground in South Vietnam. I agree with TheWrap's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and provide my consent to receive marketing communications from them. By denying their mistreatment or not investigating their treatment,in an effort to sway public opinion to her own perceived vision of the national interest, she did harm to her countrymen in captivity. She also spoke about her infamous protests. She said that she regretted it. "There's no disputing that Jane Fonda toured North Vietnam, propagandized on behalf of the communists, and participated in an orchestrated "press conference" with American POWs in 1972. Dave JANE FONDA: Well, I didnt like it. Over the years, as Fonda reinvented herself as a fitness maven and again a movie star, she apologized many times for the antiaircraft gunphoto. Fonda was lambasted for her trip to North Vietnam in 1972 during the Vietnam War. She and actor Donald Sutherland started an anti-USO troupe to counter Bob Hopes famous shows for the troops. And, as she does, each POW palms her a scrap of paper with his Social Security number written on it. officers, toward the Chinese border amid cries of protest from Wall Street which feared war with "our trading partner" Red China. We're trained. 1991) Pages 225-229. 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 chance to remake oneself is a universally acknowledged strength of this Republic, and the Republic itself has done it often enough. The cover called her Ms. You're a great American. But newly discovered tapes tell a very, very different story. There was a real Colonel Carrigan, and he was a POW in Vietnam. Its more than being a traitor; millions of Americans felt treasonous during that war. Rudi Bakhtiar jumped from CNN to Fox News in 2006. Denying a final victory over a dedicated and skilled marxist enemy was a recipe for the murder of our men. Then Dr. Spock attacked the Vietnam draft. 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 folklore, but folklore of a curiously evolved sort. [3] And she referred to the POW's as hypocrites and liars.[4]. The POWs who were there have denied that this ever occurred. The charges against Fonda went beyond the notion that she was an apologist for the mistreatment of American prisoners of war. Heres Kellys take on what she called Fondas poor me routine. After countless apologies spanning four decades, Breitbarts John Nolte believes Hanoi Jane Fonda should finally be forgiven for her antics in Vietnam.. Fonda has said categorically that she was an adult at the time and called her If it wasn't I must be missing something. Us veterans will never forget or forgive her posing on a North Viet anti-aircraft gun, regardless whatever else she may or may not have done. On campus, she was pushing her movement to turn U.S. soldiers into pacifists. 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. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Switch to the dark mode that's kinder on your eyes at night time. It wasnt firing at the time, and Fonda said in 2011 she hardly even thought about where I was sitting and that it is possible that it was a set up, that the Vietnamese I think that this is rather odd. Even so, the main focus of my essay was whether Jane Fonda participated in war crimes, not whether she was morally culpable for her part as an apologist for the mistreatment of POW's (she was). And the question I have is 50 years later, how do you look back on that particular chapter? Perhaps most dramatically, in March 1973, the Maryland state legislature held a hearing to have Fonda and her films barred from the state. During her two-week stay, Fonda concluded that America 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. 5:15 After numerous apologies over four decades, its time to let Hanoi Jane Fonda off the hook for Vietnam.