Jane Fonda Urban Legends
I'm writing to ask you if you
can verify or shed some light on an incident regarding Jane Fonda.
I heard that the POW's handed her slips of paper bearing their
social security numbers with the idea and hope that she would turn
them over to the prisoner's families which would let the families know
their men were alive. After she received them she
allegedly turned these papers over to the North Vietnamese prison
authorities. Can you tell me if this is a true story?
Thanks for your time and consideration. Elliott Steele
My Response to Elliott's e-mail:
Elliott,
The answer to your question is this
information is false. For the past several years there
has been several different e-mails being passed around on the
internet containing false and truthful information about Jane Fonda.
Here is one version of the this e-mail. Below this message you
will see my comments on what is truthful and what is false:
A TRAITOR IS ABOUT TO BE
HONORED: KEEP THIS MOVING ACROSS AMERICA
Unfortunately, many have forgotten and still countless others have
never known how Ms. Fonda betrayed not only the idea of our
country, but specific men who served and sacrificed during
Vietnam.
The first part of this is from an F-4E pilot
The pilot's name is Jerry Driscoll, a River Rat.
In 1968, the former Commandant of the USAF Survival School was a
POW in Ho Lo Prison the "Hanoi Hilton."
Dragged from a stinking cesspit of a cell, cleaned, fed, and
dressed in clean PJ's, he was ordered to describe for a visiting
American "Peace Activist" the "lenient and humane
treatment" he'd received.
Dragged from a stinking cesspit of a cell, cleaned, fed, and
dressed in clean PJ's, he was ordered to describe for a visiting
American "Peace Activist" the "lenient and humane
treatment" he'd received. He spat at Ms. Fonda, was clubbed,
and was dragged away. During the subsequent beating, he fell
forward on to the camp Commandant's feet, which sent that officer
berserk.
In 1978, the Air Force Colonel still suffered from double vision
(which permanently ended his flying career) from the Commandant's
frenzied application of a wooden baton.
From 1963-65, Col. Larry Carrigan was in the 47FW/DO (F-4E's). He
spent 6 years in the "Hanoi Hilton",,, the first three
of which his family only knew he was "missing in
action". His wife lived on faith that he was still alive. His
group, too, got the cleaned-up, fed and clothed routine in
preparation for a "peace delegation" visit. They,
however, had time and devised a plan to get word to the world that
they were alive and still survived. Each man secreted a tiny piece
of paper, with his Social Security Number on it, in the palm of
his hand.
When paraded before Ms. Fonda and a cameraman, she walked the
line, shaking each man's hand and asking little encouraging
snippets like: "Aren't you sorry you bombed babies?" and
"Are you grateful for the humane treatment from your
benevolent captors?" Believing this HAD to be an act, they
each palmed her their sliver of paper. She took them all without
missing a beat. At the end of the line and once the camera stopped
rolling, to the shocked disbelief of the POWs, she turned to the
officer in charge and handed him all the little pieces of paper.
Three men died from the subsequent beatings. Colonel Carrigan was
almost number four but he survived, which is the only reason we
know of her actions that day. I was a civilian economic
development advisor in Vietnam, and was captured by the North
Vietnamese communists in South Vietnam in 1968, and held prisoner
for over 5 years. I spent 27 months in solitary confinement; one
year in a cage in Cambodia; and one year in a "black
box" in Hanoi. My North Vietnamese captors deliberately
poisoned and murdered a female missionary, a nurse in a
leprosarium in Ban me Thuot, South Vietnam, whom I buried in the
jungle near the Cambodian border. At one time, I weighed only
about 90 lbs. (My normal weight is 170 lbs.)
We were Jane Fonda's "war criminals."
When Jane Fonda was in Hanoi, I was asked by the camp communist
political officer if I would be willing to meet with her.
I said yes, for I wanted to tell her about the real treatment we
POWs received... and how different it was from the treatment
purported by the North Vietnamese, and parroted by her as
"humane and lenient."
Because of this, I spent three days on a rocky floor on my knees,
with my arms outstretched with a large steel weights placed on my
hands, and beaten with a bamboo cane.
I had the opportunity to meet with Jane Fonda soon after I was
released. I asked her if she would be willing to debate me on TV.
She never did answer me.
These first-hand experiences do not exemplify someone who should
be honored as part of "100 Years of Great Women." Lest
we forget..." 100 Years of Great Women" should never
include a traitor whose hands are covered with the blood of so
many patriots.
There are few things I have strong visceral reactions to, but
Hanoi Jane's participation in blatant treason, is one of them.
Please take the time to forward to as many people as you possibly
can. It will eventually end up on her computer and she needs to
know that we will never forget. RONALD D. SAMPSON, CMSgt, USAF 716
Maintenance Squadron, Chief of Maintenance
DSN: 875-6431 COMM: 883-6343
Lakeland , FL
Here is the break down
on what is truthful and what is false from this e-mail:
- Jane Fonda was honored by Barbara Walters in her
special on ABC by being one of the top 100 most influential
women of the century on April 30, 1999. True
- The passing of slips of papers to Jane Fonda and
subsequent beatings that caused the death of three men is False
- The story about LTC Jerry Driscoll is False
- The story about Col. Larry Carrigan is False.
- The story about the civilian (Michael Benge) is True.
It came from post he made on the internet at
the Advocacy And Intelligence Index —April 28, 1999
As you can see all of the information in this letter was old and
contained false information mixed with some truths. It
is unknown who started this urban legend on Jane Fonda. This
disinformation on Jane Fonda may have came from Jane Fonda's
supporters since it was very easy to prove it to be false.
By doing so, Jane Fonda becomes the victim and truthful statements
about Jane Fonda would now come into question.
People have forgotten or were never taught that Jane Fonda was an
admitted Communist Revolutionary who stated in 1972 "I
am not a do-gooder, I am a revolutionary. A revolutionary
woman". In a 1970 interview with the People's World, a
Communist Party publication, she stated: "To
make the revolution in the United States is a slow day by day job
that requires patience and discipline. It is the only way to make
it. . . . All I know is that despite the fact that I am one of the
people who benefit from a capitalist society, I find that any
system which exploits other people cannot and should not
exist."
We
were fighting Communist aggression in Viet Nam. This
aggression was part of Russia's overall plain for world domination
through communism by using their strategy called "Wars of
National Liberation"*. The seed for this new strategy
was planted throughout the world, including the United States.
Viet Nam was the major proving ground for this new strategy.
*
Wars of National Liberation
-
Russia
was seeking Communist domination of the world during the Cold
War. The Cuban missile crisis made it very plain that the
United States and Russia could not go head to head in a
direct conflict without having the consequences of a nuclear
war. Russia therefore, developed a new strategy
called "Wars of National Liberation". This new
strategy would have insurgents in countries up rise against
their existing government. Russia provided support to
these insurgents in the forms of supplies and advisors.
The United States in turn, would provide the same
support for the exciting government or let
those
countries
fall to
Communism.
I hope
this answers some of your questions.
Additional Articles on Jane Fonda:
Jane
Fonda A.K.A. "Hanoi Jane"
Fonda
Admitted to Being a Socialist and Revolutionary
My
Response to a letter titled "God Bless Jane"
Democides
in Communist and Democratic Regimes
Jane
Fonda Anti-War Demonstrator and Communism in the United States
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