[email protected] writes:
Interesting viewpoint on "Women of the Century".
Many of us over 40 remember that during the
Vietnam War Jane Fonda opposed the war as many others, but she went to
Vietnam and embarrassed the U.S. Government and the prisoners of war by
her actions. Many of these actions are spelled out below. It is appalling
that her actions have been forgotten and that she may be honored as one
of the "100 Women of the Century." Looks like Hanoi Jane may be honored
as one of the "100 Women of the Century". JANE FONDA remembered? Unfortunately
many have forgotten and still countless others have never known how Ms.
Fonda betrayed not only the idea of our "country" but the men who served
and sacrificed during Vietnam. There are few things I have strong visceral
reactions to, but Jane Fonda's participation in what I believe to be blatant
treason, is one of them.
Part of my conviction comes from exposure to those who suffered her attentions.
The first part of this is from an F-4E pilot. The pilot's name is Jerry
Driscoll, a River Rat. In 1978, the Commandant of the USAF Survival School
was a former POW in Ho Lo Prison-the "Hanoi Hilton". Dragged from a stinking
cesspit of a cell, cleaned, fed, and dressed in clean PJs, 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 dragged
away. During the subsequent beating, he fell forward upon the camp Commandant's
feet, accidentally pulling the man's shoe off which sent that officer berserk.
In '78, the AF Col. Still suffered from double vision (which permanently
ended his flying days) from the Vietnamese Col.'s frenzied application
of a wooden baton.
Col. Larry Carrigan was the 47FW/DO (F-4Es). He spent 6 years in the "Hilton"-the
first three of which he was "missing in action". His wife lived on faith
that he was still alive. His group, too, got the cleaned/fed/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 still survived. Each
man secreted a tiny piece of paper, with his SSN 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 the little pile. Three men died from the subsequent beatings.
Col. Carrigan was almost number four.
To whom it may concern: I was a civilian economic development advisor in
Vietnam, and was captured by the North Vietnamese communists in South Vietnam
in 1968, and held 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 was weighing
approximately 90 lbs. (My normal weight is 170 lbs.) We were Jane Fonda's
"war criminals." When Jane Fonda was in Hanoi, the camp communist political
officer asked me if I would be willing to meet with Jane Fonda. I said
yes, for I would like to tell her about the real treatment we POWs were
receiving, which was far different from the treatment purported by the
North Vietnamese, and parroted by Jane Fonda, as "humane and lenient."
Because of this, 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. I had the opportunity to meet with Jane
Fonda for a couple of hours after I was released. I asked her if she would
be willing to debate me on TV. She did not answer me, her former husband,
Tom Hayden, answered for her.
This does not exemplify someone who should be honored as "100 Years of
Great Women." Please take the time to read and 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". Lest we forget..."100 years
of great women." Jim B.
(note: you can copy and paste this article and email to as many people as you know)