In 1972 Jane Fonda visited North Vietnam. The North and South governments of Vietnam were at war with each other, and, the U.S. and some allies, including New Zealand, Australia, and South Korea, were supporting the South with their combined militaries. By 1972, the participation of the U.S. in the Southeast Asian conflict was mostly unpopular. Of course, families of service members and most friends of combatants were sympathetic to the military members, regardless their feelings about us being there. I was long gone from Southeast Asia, having last been in Danang in June 1966, and discharged a month or so later. I had worked for the U.S. Department of the Army as a civilian Crypto/Communications Specialist from August 1966 to December 1968, after which I took a job as a civilian communications specialist with Weyerhaeuser Company in Tacoma, and then in Chicago. By the time Jane did her camera appearances in Hanoi, I was leaving Chicago for return to Tacoma with my growing family of 3.
My point is, I was long gone from Vietnam by 1972, but not without opinions, memories, and loyalties. At that time, quite simply, I regretted that Jane had not been a casualty of U.S. bombing. But, to be clear, even then, I believed our valid reasons for being there, if there were any good reasons at all, were very weak. I would have respected our leaders more if they had simply stated, “Hey look! We have a financial interest in being there…we’re generating a whole lot of income for a lot companies, who are hiring many Americans at good wages, and as a by-product, we may even stop or slow the spread of collectivist politics on the Asian continent!” I had, and have, no beef with those who were totally against that war, or even war in general. I had no beef with those who felt so strongly that they demonstrated, burned their draft-cards, and/or hustled off for Canada. I think there should always be a relatively easy “out” for citizens of a free society to avoid individual moral dilemmas, including, organized violence approved by their politicians.
So, my “beef” with Lady Jane Fonda is NOT that she was anti-war in general, or specifically anti-U.S. involvement in that war. My beef was and is, that at 35-years old, presumably as mature in judgement as she will ever get to be, she allowed herself to be the photographed “darling” of the propaganda arm of a totalitarian government with whom HER country of birth and citizenship was at war. She allowed a country, with no free-press and little outside scrutiny into its many barbarous cruelties to its own citizens, to use her presence to demoralize allied military, and give comfort to North Vietnamese, Chinese, and Soviet military members and civilians. She gave interviews, accusing U.S. service members of being hypocrites and worse. She trusted foreign propagandists to not publish pictures of her seated on an anti-aircraft weapon. If there is such a thing as “guilt by degrees” then she sided with the government, North Vietnam, which was guilty of many, many more atrocities against its own civilians, and the civilians of its Southern neighbor than the U.S. ever could have committed by even the most liberal count. The fact is, there is more than enough guilt to go around…for personal acts, as well as, tactical and strategic policies and practices by all involved. But, as far as, who was the worst? Even left-leaning authors and journalists of the UK and France give that prize to the Peoples’ government of North Vietnam.
Back to Jane. Jane is now in her 80's. She seems actually more sought after in Hollywood these days, than she was back then. When I have watched a feature with her acting in it, I look at the heavily made-up elderly woman on the screen, but I can see only the 35-year-old, privileged brat, spawned from Hollywood royalty, sitting on a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft installation. I hear that she regrets the photo op on the gun installation, but in reading the quotes I hear only that she regrets it was published when they said they wouldn’t. I wonder why she thought they wanted pictures of her manning a weapon? Did that 35-year old think it was just so they’d have pictures to show the Mrs. when they got home? Her consequent “black listing” in Hollywood was of no matter, since she was well-able to sell herself to a succession of rich and or powerful husbands, until the market for movies starring old women in heavy make up improved.
For my part, I try to never watch a movie which has "Lady" Jane as a character. She's never been a particularly great actress. In my opinion, had she not be Henry Fonda's daughter, we'd have never seen her on the screen. But, the same can be said of her brother, who somehow managed to oppose the war in Vietnam without participating in a photo op and interview with the propaganda arm of the North Vietnam Communist Party.
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