Posted on 01/20/2014 10:51:23 PM PST by Zakeet
In their latest interview with Michelle Obama, People magazine asked if there were role models the First Lady looked at to think "When I'm 70 or 80, I want to look and live like her?"
Mrs. Obama thought of actresses: Cicely Tyson, and then that "politically savvy, sharp woman" named Jane Fonda, age 76:
"I just went to see Cicely Tyson on Broadway. She is in her 80s [just turned 80 in December] and did a two-hour play with stamina and passion. I told her 'I want to be you when I grow up!'" And then she added: "There's Jane Fonda, a beautiful, engaged, politically savvy, sharp woman."
Last November, new U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power sounded a similar note:
“Hi everybody,” Power said, according to a transcript. “You know life has changed when you’re hanging out with Jane Fonda backstage. There is no greater embodiment of being outspoken on behalf of what you believe in — and being 'all in' in every way — than Jane Fonda. And it’s a huge honor just to even briefly have shared the stage with her.”
“Mochelle’s to stupid not to be a fan of Hanoi Jane.”
This nonsense is being thrown out there to portray her as a political dissident as opposed to an unassimilated racial dissident; pure BS.
Desert Rats, as I said. A lot of people know where it originated from. A small group of guys.
It’s a small group. Does that make it untrue?
The real mystery is why someone on free republic jumps in to defend Jane Fonda like clockwork, hence my snarky pre defense
And only of late, not like back on 1998, 2000, 2003, when the site started
If you wat to defend Fonda instead of doing a simple google, or rea search or read a book, fine
You’re in company with Michelle Obama
But waste my time no more.
I do not care about your views, they’re just uninformed opinions or much worse
They are a perfect match... treasonous vipers of communism and both hate America and men.
They’re closing in on it...
Ptuh!
Don’t be so quick to jump on someone for trying to get to the truth. The Fonda note rumor is just that: a rumor.
Kristin, you are mistaken. And I am surprised
You are quick to add to the jumping on of me.
I have a first hand account. From twenty men, their families to a group of military - airmen to generals, and their families, who gather annually to tell this account
Do you suppose we wink and nod as if they are doddering old men who remember the exact account year after year?
Do you think men who endured torture over 7 years lie?
Why do people on free republic, and you, Kristin, of all credible people, take Jane Fonda’s and her minions’ account over doing a modicum of research?
You and Michelle Obama on the same side?
I relate a true account. I get jumped on and am told not to jump on people
If you don’t believe my account, why not leave it alone?
Which Vietnam POWs tell this story?
Yep.
He’s not trying to get to the truth. Read it.
I get this every time.
I have a devotion to these gentleman, and I take great offense to people buying into propaganda.
I’m sending this to you, Kristinn, but only because I regard your exhaustive work through the years, as correspondent and beyond.
These are the River Rats. You can take it up on this site, but I suggest no one tell THEM that any American patriot believes Fonda over them. There is nothing in the world more insulting.
http://www.1stcavmedic.com/jane_fonda.htm
No one here is not disputing that Jane Fonda is a commie traitor who took the side of the North Vietnamese against America. The link you provided is factual. It does not contain the rumor of Fonda meeting with POWs and turning over a note from them to the North Vietnamse. It does mention that POWs were tortured for refusing to meet with groups of visiting traitors like Fonda and her ilk.
Here is whom you and others defend.
No one on FR ever defends the honor of these prisoners. I have heard their accounts, and they are true and real. If they are questionable, why do people on Free Republic take the time and effort to annoy this subject?
This is whom you defend; do you want to read this published account and say that she was incapable of doing what she is accused Of? Or would she draw the line at some point?:
While American Soldiers were fighting and dying in the Vietnam War, Jane Fonda, the daughter of Henry Fonda, was using her money and influence at colleges and universities to gather support to advocate communism and encourage rebellion and anarchy against the United States Government.
On November 21, 1970 she told a University of Michigan audience of some two thousand students, “If you understood what communism was, you would hope, you would pray on your knees that we would some day become communist.” At Duke University in North Carolina she repeated what she had said in Michigan, adding “I, a socialist, think that we should strive toward a socialist society, all the way to communism. “ Washington Times July 7, 2000
Jane Fonda began her participation in anti-war activities around 1967, allegedly after meeting with Communists while in France and with American citizens who were revolutionaries. Her activities included active participation in demonstrations, rallies, radio broadcasts and plays.
Jane Fonda also helped in the organization of a production group called the F.T.A. (F*** The Army). This group helped to set up coffee houses near military bases where they would perform anti-war derogatory-type sketches for the visiting soldiers. The coffee-house sketches were intended to counterpoint the U.S.O. shows, such as Bob Hope and other U.S.O. sponsored performers whose performances increased morale and gave positive support to American soldiers. Some of the F.T.A. coffee house employees would mingle with the soldiers to help them to “relax and unwind”, while encouraging the soldiers to desert. Some soldiers alleged that they were promised jobs and money by the F.T.A. if they deserted.
did you see the photos of her cavorting with the enemy, dated by the WaPo?
Would she stop at hurting our troops?
It is such an insane argument.
You don’t have to believe the story of the Social Security numbers, look at what she did, read the accounts of her speeches and activities, haer substantial monetary donations to F the Army, Her activities at Red Cross stations to demoralize the troops.
I mean, ehy do people waste their time arguing. When I give an account of what I hear year after year at the annual symposium, on FR I expect to ahv a friendly audience, not a lot of preschoos logic thinkers saying no the slips of paper are false, I read it in an email.
So what? Why shed doubt on Her factually based activities? Do you think she didn’t cause pain and suffering or death to the troops?
Join Michelle Obama, but I hope no former POW wastes his effort on this site reading such inanity. It is an insult to them for anyone to detract from her activities.
Do some research. Consider the sources
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.
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
an d 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
You state that “A lot of people know where it originated from”. Well, tell us who they were.
If my friends, who were among the senior commanders and longtime prisoners in the Hanoi Hilton didn’t know, how come you do?
I don’t know how old you are, but I was kicking Fonda’s ass when you were probably still in diapers. There is a lot more to her story than you’ll ever know. The equivalence of being above your clearance grade.
Ever deal with her in person? I did. End of your story.
Nobody here is defending Hanoi Jane. The only objective I have is to the truth and to prevent us from making that ONE MISTAKE the Left wants in order to discredit all of us.
I’ve been in this game for almost 50 years. I know the enemy, their strategies, tactics, organizations, and members.
Media Matters is only one front for Soros on the “media”. I personally think it is more of a “buttboy fraternity” because they certainly don’t know much about the media and the truth.
Daily Kos is another very strange operation. Mooky is now affiliated with Russia Today TV. Raise any suspicions?
Wash. Post has more “hitmen and women” on stories than Carter had Liver Pills. If you don’t know the cast of characters, then you don’t know the story at all. Having been a target of the WP, I know whereof I speak.
Freerepublic is NOT the “Ted Mack Amateur Hour” though it is open to all. The quality of the people here and their knowledge/experiences makes it one of the top online sites in the country. We ask, we tell, we discuss. But when an error is made, even unintentionally, we need to tell why it is an error and to correct the misinformation immediately.
Remember, the Left is always watching and they will smear us whether we are accurate or not. Our credibility with our viewers is to put forth the best of our knowledge and experiences, to give them a context, and to dissect and destroy myths, misinformation, disinformation and outright lies.
If you lose your credibility, you have lost your reputation. I have no intention of doing that after 45 years of being a reporter, columnist, congressional witness, govt undercover operative and Vietnam journalist.
Subject: Re: Fw: Check out "Hanoi Jane"
Date: Sat, 07 Jul 2001 11:26:20 -0500
From: Ken Cordier
Cliff, et al,
This internet "urban lore" pops up every 4-6 months, although this time it is embellished with some sound and snappy graphics not seen before. Nevertheless, the content is just as absurd and untrue as in former versions. Having said that, and make no mistake - Hanoi Jane is held in contempt by nearly every former Vietnam POW. The exception would be the two turncoats who actually did meet with her in the summer of '72. They too are held in contempt by the other POWs. They were given favors and very special treatment in return for their "cooperation" (read: violation of every article in the Code of Conduct), and her report on how we were being treated reflected only her observation of these two "special" prisoners. This didn't stop her from producing a 20 minute audio tape addressed to "American Detainees", in which we had to listen to her berate us and tell us we should be ASHAMED for the CRIMES we had committed against the gentle and peace-loving Vietnamese people. At the end of the diatribe she entertained us with some of her anti-war songs laced with foul language and obscenities. For this she has never apologized.
As to the guys who were so savagely beaten: None of what is reported in this article ever happened at the time. Jerry Driscoll was shot down in April 1966, flying an F-105, not F-4E. In the summer of '72, Jerry Driscoll was in a camp with me located near the Chinese boarder. After he retired from the Air Force he flew for American Airlines, and although you may think some of the airline pilots have double vision after a hard landing, I can assure you Jerry has corrected to 20/20 vision.
Larry Carrigan did not meet Jane Fonda 1972, and neither he nor the 3 others were beaten, and certainly not to death. We know of no POWs who were beaten to death after Capt Ed Atterbury was in May, 1969.
Finally, the supposed signator of this article, Charles Klingman, has a voice message on the the phone number at the bottom of the article in which he denies authorship and declares the events reported to be untrue. Unfortunately, he forwarded this article a couple of years ago and did not make sure that the originator line was retransmitted, thus his name has been attached to it as it has migrated around the net.
We has more than sufficient reasons to despise Jane Fonda's traitorous activities. This is not one of them.
Yours in Freedom,
Ken Cordier
Cordier later became a vocal member of the Swift Boat Veterans and POWs for Truth
Excerpt from archive of Minneapolis Post Tribune article from 2005 with quotes from POWs denying the rumor-mongering emails:
Former Vietnam-era POW Jerry Driscoll of Wayzata wishes that darn e-mail about actress and antiwar activist Jane Fonda would go away.
Driscoll, 65, and other POWs involved say two of the stories are fictional. The third beating story was pirated from a letter by the civilian POW, who says that that part is true...
Shame on Jane
By Michael Benge
To whom it may concern:
I was a civilian economic development advisor in Viet Nam, and was captured by the North Vietnamese communists in South Viet Nam 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, I was asked by the camp communist political officer 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 rebar placed on my hands, and beaten with a bamboo cane every time my arms dipped. Jane Fonda had the audacity to say that the POWs were lying about our torture and treatment.
Now ABC is allowing Barbara Walters to honor Jane Fonda in her Feature "100 Years of Great Women." Shame, shame on Jane Fonda! Shame, shame on Barbara Walters! Shame, shame on 20-20. Shame, shame on ABC. And, shame, shame on the Disney Company.
I had the opportunity to meet with Jane Fonda for a couple of hours after I was released [in 1973]. I asked her if she would be willing to debate me on TV. She did not answer me, her husband, Tom Hayden, answered for her. She was mind controlled by her husband.
This does not exemplify someone who should be honored as "100 Years of Great Women." After I was released, I was asked what I thought of Jane Fonda and the antiwar movement. I said that I held Joan Baez’s husband in very high regard, for he thought the war was wrong, burned his draft card and went to prison in protest. >[? If the other antiwar protesters took this same route, it would have brought our judicial system to a halt and ended the war much earlier, and there wouldn’t be as many on that somber black granite wall called the Vietnam Memorial. This is democracy. This is the American way. >[? Jane Fonda, on the other hand, chose to be a traitor, and went to Hanoi, wore their uniform, propagandized for the communists, and urged American soldiers to desert. As we were being tortured, and some of the POWs murdered, she called us liars. >[? After her heroes—the North Vietnamese communists—took over South Vietnam, they systematically murdered 80,000 South Vietnamese political prisoners. May their souls rest on her head forever. Shame! Shame! >[? Respectfully,
Michael D. Benge
cc: Mr. Eisner, Walt Disney Co.
Mike Benge was a civilian POW from 28 Jan 68 - 5 Mar 73
Thanks for the backup. I didn’t talk to Cordier eventhough we were both in the Swiftboat Veterans for the Truth organization. I was one of the researchers/writers for “Unfit for Command” with Jerry Corsi (we handled the anti-Vietnam protests/Kerry’s side of the story).
I’ve known John O’Neil since we were in Vietnam Veterans for a Just Peace in 1972.
Mike Benge and I have been friends since he got out of the Hanoi Hilton in 1973. We correspond nearly every week, often several times during the week re Vietnam research projects and issues that come up.
He has always been polite in his descriptions of Fonda. He is a former Marine and longtime AID officer. Finally got his replacement Purple Heart and Distinguised Service Metal for Vietnam services, last year. Always a gentleman, but he is like a vampire on Fonda’s neck and he will never let go.
Mike: If you read this, let’s do pizza soon. Trevor’s in town next week. Will send details.
HEY FREEPERS> I told you that we had the most experienced and smartest people here.Kristinn/Cordier/Benge proved it once again.
The truth shall triumph if we work hard enough.
Thanks Kristinn for finding these two letters. One less myth to deal with. Many more about Vietnam will be falling in the future. Trust me!
Ok. I’ll never say another word about precious Jane Fonda here. Michelle is correct as far as free republic is concerned.
No matter that she was there, spreading propaganda, causing harm, the social security number incident is under question
I was relating a story I heard, not at all intending to start anything, just with the intent of bringing up the suffering our brave and wonderful pilots went through, but ill never say anything against her again
No mention of her activities here, just defense; no word from either of you about the pilots just sniveling petty childish defense of one incident
But I beg you to stop the defense of her directed at me, I know what I know
Defend Jane Fonda somewhere else
Get away from me
Ok
You win.
Just thought if relate a story I’d heard from a group of former POWs from an annual event
Didnt think I’d run into such admonition in defense of Fonda
I know what I heard and what I saw. If I’m wrong, it it could not make a small difference to me. I know she caused much suffering.
I am sure done reading your defense of her. Your point is so miniscule in the reality of what went on even if you are right
You love her, I get it. You want to defend her
I’ll never mention the plight of these wonderful men under her actions here on free republic again
I get it
If you get the urge to post to me again, please, print this entire conversation out and present it to your ‘pow’ friends first
They’ll say what I’d like to get across to you, more effectively, no doubt
But I am done
...You will be known by the company you keep...
*****
Great minds. Heard that as a kid all the time. (see my tag line)
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