Being in the military, I’ve heard several former POWs speak in different settings. I’ve heard at least one tell the story of Jane Fonda’s visit and the treatment the POWs receive afterward. I can’t remember specifically which man told the story.
Whether or not not happened, many of them believe that it happened.
Whether or not not happened, many of them believe that it happened.
But . . . she didn't do it.
From Snopes: "The facts are that while in North Vietnam, Fonda met with only a single group of seven U.S POWs: all seven of those POWs agreed to meet with her, no POWs were tortured for declining to meet with her (or for behaving inappropriately during the meeting), and no POWs secretly slipped Fonda messages which she turned over to the North Vietnamese. The persons named in inflammatory claims about this alleged incident have repeatedly and categorically denied the events they supposedly were part of."
"the fact is that Fonda met only seven American POWs while in North Vietnam: Edison Miller, Walter Wilber, James Padgett, David Wesley Hoffman, Kenneth James Fraser, William G. Byrns, and Edward Elias. None of those men reported her sabotaging their attempts to slip her information about themselves, and anyone other than those seven men who asserts he was 'there' and witnessed such a scene is simply not telling the truth."
Whether or not not happened, many of them believe that it happened.
But . . . she didn't do it.
From Snopes: "The facts are that while in North Vietnam, Fonda met with only a single group of seven U.S POWs: all seven of those POWs agreed to meet with her, no POWs were tortured for declining to meet with her (or for behaving inappropriately during the meeting), and no POWs secretly slipped Fonda messages which she turned over to the North Vietnamese. The persons named in inflammatory claims about this alleged incident have repeatedly and categorically denied the events they supposedly were part of."
"the fact is that Fonda met only seven American POWs while in North Vietnam: Edison Miller, Walter Wilber, James Padgett, David Wesley Hoffman, Kenneth James Fraser, William G. Byrns, and Edward Elias. None of those men reported her sabotaging their attempts to slip her information about themselves, and anyone other than those seven men who asserts he was 'there' and witnessed such a scene is simply not telling the truth."
What am I missing here?
I’m not sure. I wish I could remember who told the story, but I don’t. I’m sorry. I’ll stop perpetuating this.
Post by basilosaurus on Feb 10, 2020 20:35:13 GMT -5
All I can say to this is saying her name was the quickest way to get my Spanish teacher to go on a rant and stop teaching. Teacher fought in Bay of Pigs. Cuban born, refugee, hated JFK, hated Jane Fonda. I was never going to get an impartial impression of her.
But since then, yeah, I can't say I disagree with what she said, and I do think she was unfairly maligned.
But don't tell senor selloso I said that! Growing up in S FL means most of your teachers, not just ones that taught Spanish, were Cuban refugees.
I've got nothing to add here except that if you haven't watched the series Grace & Frankie on Netflix, you are missing out. The show is wonderful and she is just brilliant in it.
This urban legend has always fascinated and scared the shit out of me. Look how many people believe it is absolutely true, when it never happened.
I had no idea this wasn’t true. It is spoken about so widely and frequently that I just accepted it as a commonly known fact, and I am usually a googler and snopes checker.
This urban legend has always fascinated and scared the shit out of me. Look how many people believe it is absolutely true, when it never happened.
I had no idea this wasn’t true. It is spoken about so widely and frequently that I just accepted it as a commonly known fact, and I am usually a googler and snopes checker.
I've always thought it was one of the most effective disinformation campaigns perpetuated by our government*, since it is so firmly believed by literally everyone. They thoroughly and forever discredited a prominent activist.
*I don't have proof, but you can't deny that there were outside factors here at work.
I was watching Grace & Frankie recently and when they said she was 80 on the show I scoffed and went to check her IMDb page because I was certain they were adding 10+ years. I always thought she was closer to my Mom’s age than my Grandma.
Although I do have a close friend who’s Mom has the most amazing genes. She is early 70s and doesn’t look a day past 55. She looks much younger than my Mom and I am certain has never had any work done and also had 5 kids. Madness.
I had never heard any of the POW rumours, but I’m also in Canada so the Vietnam war isn’t a common topic of discussion here. On the other hand I’ve heard about her Fire Drill Friday protests and subsequent arrests. She’s an interesting woman and has obviously never shied away from controversy and doing what she thinks is right.
My XFIL was a career navy man. He was VERY anti Jane Fonda, and always referred to her as Hanoi Jane. I think this article really explains well the betrayal a lot of vets felt, and also why there was a ton of misinformation. Oddly my father, who was in Vietnam (and my XFIL wasn’t, but was in other battles), did not have the same opinion of her.
Quote from the article:
In her 2005 memoir, “My Life So Far,” Fonda wrote of the infamous photo this way: Here is my best, honest recollection of what took place. Someone (I don’t remember who) leads me toward the gun, and I sit down, still laughing, still applauding. It all has nothing to do with where I am sitting. I hardly even think about where I am sitting. The cameras flash. 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. Oh, my God. It’s going to look like I was trying to shoot down U.S. planes! I plead with him, You have to be sure those photographs are not published. Please, you can’t let them be published. I am assured it will be taken care of. I don’t know what else to do. It is possible that the Vietnamese had it all planned. I will never know. If they did, can I really blame them? The buck stops here. If I was used, I allowed it to happen. It was my mistake, and I have paid and continue to pay a heavy price for it. Still, for some veterans, no apology from Fonda will ever change their views of her as an adversary of America and the troops during wartime. In 2015, about 50 veterans stood outside the Weinberg Center for the Arts in Frederick, Md., to protest Fonda’s appearance there. They held signs that read “Forgive? Maybe. Forget? Never.” and booed people attending the event, according to the Frederick News-Post.
We had two Jane Fonda workout tapes growing up and you better believe i used the shit out of them.
She seems feisty and self aware and passionate in all the right ways and I'm glad this is urban legend, but it's a shame that it still colors the overall perception of her.
Ohhh...that's fascinating. I'd heard the name Hanoi Jane. I had no clue it referred to Fonda. Huh.
I mean, even though the very specific thing they say she did never happened, Vietnam vets weren't going to love somebody who protested the involvement in the war, and was legit friendly with the enemy? Or was she not actually and I'm misreading this?
Ohhh...that's fascinating. I'd heard the name Hanoi Jane. I had no clue it referred to Fonda. Huh.
I mean, even though the very specific thing they say she did never happened, Vietnam vets weren't going to love somebody who protested the involvement in the war, and was legit friendly with the enemy? Or was she not actually and I'm misreading this?
Vietnam is very complicated when it comes to vets and their feelings. This was the last war that used the draft extensively, so you have career military vets, vets who were drafted and wanted to serve, and vets that never wanted to serve and actively hated all involvement but are now vets anyway. There are also a lot of feelings of abandonment when it comes to Vietnam vets, as they translated the widespread opposition of the war as opposition against them. They were also pretty much abandoned by the government once they came home. So you put that all together with a female, vocal activist who was against the war you are (willingly or unwillingly) serving in, and you get this toxic stew. Regardless of what she was doing, she was always going to be hated. She was fairly naive, and this showed in her willingly being placed in a bad position.
I can't even mention her name without my dad - retired Navy - losing his shit. I never believed it. And it pisses me off that the tearing down of activists - especially women - is so damn entrenched in our culture. I mean, look at how many Americans speak about Greta Thunburg and Malala. It's enraging.
Post by exploding people on Feb 11, 2020 14:11:05 GMT -5
I just finished reading her book "My Life So Far," which I highly recommend if you're looking for a long but interesting read. She goes into a lot of detail about her time in Vietnam. She also got a hold of her FBI files and talks about what she found in them.