POW's wife: "You're using these people for your own ambitions, Mr. Kerry!"

This is outside my usual area of discussion, but (1) living in Michigan, I was intrigued by the historic role Detroit played in John Kerry's "aid and comfort to the enemy" saga, and (2) my late father was a U.S. Marine who survived Pearl Harbor and served during both WWII and the Korean War, which means I was raised to have strong feelings about that "aid and comfort" stuff.

If those Swift Boat guys remain on the ball as they have so far, I'll bet the information below eventually becomes the subject of one of their ads. It certainly should.

Kerry was an active participant in a Jane Fonda-led event in Detroit that produced a propaganda film that slandered the reputation of all U.S. servicemen who served in Vietnam. That Detroit event was also the basis of Kerry's infamous testimony before the U.S. Senate.

Fonda raised money and entertained for the event, even met her future husband there. Kerry was a moderator for it.

The headline of this post quotes the wife of a POW who yelled at Kerry during the event...see details below... foreshadowing his doing just what she yelled over 30 years later.

Jane and John documentably collaborating in Detroit to smear Vietnam vets. That should drop him like a lead balloon.

It's all here from various sources, most of them posted on university web sites.

Statement by John Kerry Vietnam Veterans Against the War Senate Foreign Relations Committee April 22, 1971

"I would like to talk, representing all those veterans, and say that several months ago in Detroit, we had an investigation at which over 150 honorably discharged and many very highly decorated veterans testified to war crimes committed in Southeast Asia, not isolated incidents but crimes committed on a day-to-day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command....

They told the stories at times they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam in addition to the normal ravage of war, and the normal and very particular ravaging which is done by the applied bombing power of this country. ...

We could come back to this country; we could be quiet; we could hold our silence; we could not tell what went on in Vietnam, but we feel because of what threatens this country, the fact that the crimes threaten it, not reds, and not redcoats but the crimes which we are committing that threaten it, that we have to speak out. ...we must learn, in this country, how to define those threats and that is what I would say to the question of world peace. I think it is bogus, totally artificial. There is no threat. The Communists are not about to take over our McDonald hamburger stands. [Laughter.]...

(Univ. of Richmond) http://www.richmond.edu/~ebolt/history398/JohnKerryTestimony.html

"Almost immediately after his tour in Vietnam ended, Kerry joined forces with Jane Fonda and helped to found and support Vietnam Veterans Against the War. In January of 1971, Kerry, Fonda, and VVAW produced the "Winter Soldier Investigations", a film of mock hearings (in Detroit) designed to publicize sensational allegations of atrocities by Americans in Vietnam. In April of 1971, three months after filming the Winter Soldier Investigation film, John Kerry led a major protest in Washington, DC against the defense of South Vietnam. There, in an act of protest, Kerry threw the medals he earned in Vietnam over the White House fence. He capped the protest by testifying before Congress. In his testimony, Kerry claimed he had evidence of major war crimes by American soldiers." http://www.tastymanatees.com/archives/000433.html

"(Kerry's) speech also cemented his alliance with Fonda, and the two traveled to Detroit to organize a January 1971 event they called the 'Winter Soldier Investigation.' At a Detroit motel, Kerry and Fonda assembled a myriad of disgruntled witnesses claiming to be Vietnam vets, each with his own story of American atrocities. According to Jug Burkett, whose landmark Vietnam war history 'Stolen Valor' chronicles some of Kerry's anti-war misadventures, Fonda played a key role at the Detroit event. 'There's no doubt that Jane Fonda financed the Winter Soldier hearings,' Burkett told NewsMax on Monday. He said that several of the witnesses who testified at the protest's 'hearings' later turned out to be complete impostors. The event prompted 'Hanoi Jane' to 'adopt' Kerry's group 'as her leading cause,' writes Brinkley. It was at Kerry's Winter Soldier protest that the anti-American actress met her future husband, Students for a Democratic Society radical Tom Hayden. The next year Fonda was off to Hanoi, where she mounted an anti-aircraft battery and pretended to shoot down American pilots." (Newsmax) http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/2/9/134218.shtml

"The most active group active expressing dissent of veterans was Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW). Formed in 1967 by six veterans involved in a protest march in New York City, by spring 1970, VVAW had 600 members. Over the next several years, thousands more joined. In 1971 VVAW held 'hearings' on the war under the title "Winter Soldier Investigation." At first, this group participated in antiwar protests and demonstrations organized by others. Then, from January 31 to February 2, 1971, VVAW leaders held an investigation of the conduct of the war in a Detroit Howard Johnson motel. Over a three day period, over 100 veterans and sixteen civilians described their war experiences, including rapes, torture, brutalities, and killing of non-combatants. Senator Mark Hatfield (Republican-Oregon) entered the testimony into the Congressional Record and urged hearings on the conduct of U.S. forces in the war. Although the media showed little interest in the Winter Soldier Investigation, veterans such as John Kerry, a VVAW leader by 1971, testified about VVAW's investigation in a Senate committee hearing April 22, 1971. (Univ. of Richmond) http://www.richmond.edu/~ebolt/history398/VVAW_WinterSoldier.html

"(Winter Soldier Investigation) began as a project of CCI, supported by Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) cofounder Jan Crumb, attorney Mark Lane, and actress Jane Fonda. ...One of our first decisions was to hold WSI in Detroit because it was centrally located in the American heartland. ...The steering committee set up a collective in a house on the industrial east side of Detroit with the help of Catholic antiwar activists. Mark Lane and Jane Fonda contributed both their fund-raising talents and their perspectives as national figures who understood media. ...WSI also relied on widespread community support...Attorneys Dean Robb and Ernie Goodman raised money from area lawyers. UAW Secretary-Treasurer Emil Mazey and Michigan Secretary of State Richard Austin also endorsed the program and sought contributions for it." (Univ. of Virginia) http://lists.village.virginia.edu/sixties/HTML_docs/Texts/Narrative/Crandell_Winter.html

"Earl Katz marched on Washington to protest the Vietnam War in the 1960s. The 59-year-old philanthropist even raised funds for a Jane Fonda documentary in which more than 100 American war veterans confessed to atrocities in the southeast Asian conflict." (L.A. Times)

"On February 1st and 2nd, 1971 Vietnam Veterans gathered in Detroit to give testimony concerning the atrocities they witnessed while serving in Vietnam. This public inquiry into American war crimes was organized by Jane Fonda and Mark Lane." (Univ. of Florida) http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/carlson/mmc5015/Homepages/F2001/Aragon/wintersoldier.html

John Kerry served as a "moderator" of one of the "Winter Soldier Investigation" panels in Detroit. (Univ. of Virginia) http://lists.village.virginia.edu/sixties/HTML_docs/Resources/Primary/Winter_Soldier/Units/Misc_roster.html

In fact, a Detroit News columnist reported in March: "Some had suspected (Kerry's) motives all along. A Detroit News clip from 1971 recounts the Detroit hearings were interrupted by the angry wife of a Vietnam prisoner of war. 'You’re using these people for your own ambitions, Mr. Kerry,' she shouted." http://www.detnews.com/2004/editorial/0403/14/a17-90817.htm

I also recall a POW wife yelled at him at this news conference and said "What office are you running for now. You are using these people."

This sounds similar to the article you describe:

POW Drive in Confusion
(Washington) Evening Star , July 23, 1971
By Mary McGrory, Star Staff Writer
AP PHOTO: JOHN KERRY
(snip)
Four heckling women infiltrated a press conference called by John Kerry yesterday to accuse the President of using the prisoners of war for political purposes.
In voices shaking with nerves and rage, the ladies in the back of the room, all relatives of POW's, accused Kerry of using the prisoners for his own political purposes.
"What are you running for now, Mr. Kerry?" screamed one of the disrupters.
Other POW kin who had gathered with Kerry to demand action on the Viet Cong's recent prisoner-release proposal were the targets of some of the ladies' taunts: "You're stupid, Kerry is using you to run for office." The four noisily stomped out. They were under the escort of a representative of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, which regards the stylish and eloquent Kerry, spokesman for the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, as public enemy number one.
Source:
FBI FOIA - VVAW CD1, 100-HQ-448092
File: Sub A Section 01.pdf, p. 73

To read the latest on the Franchurian Candidate's bizzare exploits, click the picture, goto "last," and work backwards:

If you would like to help the Swift Boat Vets ( as I have, and I urge all to do-- even a few dollars will help ) kindly click on this logo:

If, perchance, the top "click the pic" link is not visible, click here:

-John Kerry- some selected, informative links...--

Judge for yourself- see the SwiftVet ads here:

Swift Boat Ad #3: Kerry's Own Shipmate Calls Kerry on Lie

The video

The first two ads:

http://www2.swiftvets.com/index.php?topic=Ads

Take a look at these three short video clips, especially the last one. You will walk away with a heavy heart.

POW'S TELL ABOUT TORTURE

Here is a link to page full of video and audio links.
"Stolen Honor" is at the top.

The newest SBV ad:

SwiftVets Ad #4: Kerry Trashes Medals -- An Insult to Vets, Say Shipmates

-mediaplayer link--

I purchased the video, "THE HANOI HILTON" at Wal-Mart a few weeks ago. It was on sale for $5.99. I recall seeing the movie on television many years ago. I had a chance to watch the movie yesterday and now the movie, more than ever is relevant to the anti-war activities of John Kerry during the Vietnam War. Especially how the POW's were tortured many times due to the actions of John Kerry, Jane Fonda and their friends in the media.

If you have an opportunity to view it I recommend highly that you see this movie. It is a glimpse of what the POW's went through while held prisoner by the Communist North Vietnamese.

The video is available from Amazon and other online video stores.

From website: "Shot in the Dark" http://www.shotinthedark.info/

"In 1987, Lionel Chetwynd's excellent Hanoi Hilton received widely-mixed reviews (many of them politically-motivated). Worse, its distributor essentially sat on the movie, under pressure from Hollywood leftists, for its treatment of Jane Fonda. The movie depicted life at North Vietnam's Hoa Lo prison accurately - but it changed the last names of the prisoners, and of their visitors, including Jane Fonda. An actress who represents Fonda ("Paula") does everything Fonda is said to have done while in the Hilton. That was one of several stories that Hollywood didn't want told (that and, of course, the moral of the story; the men survived because of their military training and warrior ethic). "Hanoi Hilton" was buried, received a tiny theatrical release, and is hard to find on video today. (Do it if you can - it's an excellent movie)."

On the back of the box there is the following endorsement from President Ronald Reagan:

"Every American should see this powerful and moving film as a tribute to our POW's."

President Ronald Reagan

Synopsis:

HANOI HILTON (1987)

Genre(s): POW/MIA, Vietnam War

Cast: Michael Moriarty, Paul LeMat, Jeffrey Jones, Lawrence Pressman, Stephen Davies, David Soul, Rick Fitts, Aki Aleong, Gloria Carlin; DIRECTED BY: Lionel Chetwynd; WRITTEN BY: Lionel Chetwynd. PRODUCER: Cannon Films.

Review: A brutal drama about the sufferings of American POWs in Vietnamese prison camps. Non-stop torture, filth, and degradation.

Reviews on Amazon.com website:

Editorial Reviews

Description

A true story about American soldiers interned in North Vietnam during the years 1964 through 1973, and their struggle to survive within the infamous prison complex they dubbed the Hanoi Hilton.

COMMUNISM WAS EVIL, EVIL, EVIL, June 7, 2004
Reviewer: Steven R. Travers (CALIFORNIA) -

One lonely conservative voice has been trying to shout out from the "wilderness" for years. Lionel Chetwynd is a writer/producer who made "The Hanoi Hilton", which actually described the North Vietnamese as the evil torturers they were. The "Hilton" was the moniker given the infamous prison camp where American POW's were kept while Jane Fonda was flirting with our enemies. Liberal film reviewers criticized it. Do not believe them. It is good stuff.

The Hanoi Hilton, January 18, 2004
Reviewer:

I was in the Air Force during the war and have over 100 combat missions. This is the most accurate presentation of the war that is available. It is a story that needed telling and still needs to be told. It describes the situation of the American prisoners in Vietnam in an accurate and truthful manner. Everyone should see it.

The Hanoi Hilton, April 25, 2001
Reviewer:

This movie shows what terrible hardships these prisoners had to endure. I had the privilege to talk to one of the wives of these heroes and she confirmed a lot of events shown in this movie. Also stated that she was not allowed to even mention that her husband was shot down for six-months. Tell her that this movie was "too long and over emotional"!! Most Americans just did not want to face reality during this sad time in our Country's history. I was there during 1966-1968 and in Saigon 1970. --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition

Internet Movie Database
User Comments:

Date: 14 March 2000
Summary: The Libs Hate This One

While this doesn't have the action of 'Rambo' or the surrealism of 'Apocalypse Now', or 'Full Metal Jacket', it does hit dead-on as the most realistic of the Vietnam movies yet.

Most especially, it accurately contrasts the quiet heroism of the POWs with the hypocrisy of the Hollywood Left, and their comrades in the news media; so much in fact, that it is really pretty amazing this film ever got made at all.

Hollywood hates this film.

You can see a typical Hollywood review of this movie, where it is referred to as "Right-wing bullshit." Go to: http://www.ruthlessreviews.com/80saction/hanoihilton.html

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