Newsmax Readers: We’ll Never Forgive Traitorous ‘Hanoi Jane’
By Bill Hoffmann, Newsmax
Jane Fonda’s latest apology for her infamous trip to North Vietnam — which earned her the notorious name “Hanoi Jane” — is still too little, too late for many Americans who say they can never forgive the Academy Award-winning actress.
Newsmax readers flooded us with comments about Fonda’s recent appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Network in which she lamented: “I made one unforgivable mistake when I was in North Vietnam, and I will go to my grave with this.”
“What a disgrace to our nation,” one doctor from Key Largo, Fla., told us. “She should be totally forgotten and never show her face in public again.”
Rex, from Orange, Texas, said: “I don’t believe a word she says. She will always be Hanoi Jane as far as I am concerned.”
The 75-year-old star, who won an Oscar for her portrayal of a shaggy-haired hooker in “Klute,” was photographed smiling and singing with North Vietnamese soldiers as she sat on an anti-aircraft gun in 1972.
She told the program “Oprah’s Master Class” the event happened on the last day of her visit to the war-torn country when she was tired. She also insisted the gun she was shown holding was not operable.
Not everybody believes that.
“Her story gets bigger and bigger,” Eugene from Greenacres, Fla., said. “Now the gun didn’t work. How would she know …”
Phyllis from Bridgewater, N.J., told us: “Jane Fonda is and always has been a spoiled, self-centered seeker of fame and adulation. She has never cared about anyone but herself — and [she] betrayed the men and women who fought and died for her comfort.”
Many Newsmax readers said Fonda, the daughter of Hollywood legend Henry Fonda and ex-wife of CNN founder Ted Turner, should still face charges for her alliance with North Vietnam.
“No more ‘song & dance’ with Hanoi Jane,” said Robert, from Beverly Hills, Fla. “She should be tried, convicted, and dealt with accordingly. The Germans learned that war crimes never expire.”
T.J. from Clovis, Calif., said “Ms. Fonda can say anything she likes NOW. If she thinks the passage of time will render her less odious to those of us who remember how she gave aid and comfort to the enemy, I say think again, Benedict Arnold Fonda!”
Several readers slammed Fonda for a widely circulated rumor that she passed to the Viet Cong the Social Security numbers and other information about American prisoners of war, allegedly resulting in them being beaten and tortured.
Fonda has strenuously denied this story and war veterans groups, who decry her visit to North Vietnam itself, have also discredited it.
Some believe Fonda is trying to atone for her behavior as she grows older and reflects on life. But it’s doubtful she’ll ever heal what are too many still-open wounds.
“She was a traitor then and it will not change,” said Kathy from Cleburne, Texas. “She should have thought of that before we lost so many friends, husbands and fathers.”
A San Francisco commenter said: “There is nothing that this traitor can do or say to change her anti-war, anti-American views. Her history on the Vietnam conflict is well documented and the facts do not change some 40 years later. She should have been sent to prison to rot.”
But not all of those who weighed in were unsympathetic to Fonda.
“Jane Fonda was the Dennis Rodman of her time. But how many times does she have to apologize for her sins?” Dan, from Garden City, N.Y., said. “It happened when I was 2 years old, and maybe we can let her off the hook because she was anti-blood lust, and that is how we should live.”
Marty, from Fort Myers, Fla,, said: “God bless you, Jane!! I knew you were not Hanoi Jane as you were portrayed, but the real American I know. You have done much for the U.S. and always will.”
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