Hanoi Jane on North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun.
In July 1972, Jane Fonda arrived in Hanoi, North Vietnam, and began her two week tour of the country. She visited hospitals, schools, factories damaged by war, and villages. She gave her comments about what she saw to the US military, and met with international reporters. She met with POW's that the North Vietnamese set up the meetings for, so there was no reason to keep it a secret. She would tell the people back home the names of who was still alive, and who was dead. Fonda brought mail to the POW's and gave the mail to their families so they would know they were alright and what was happening. There was a rumor going around that Jane would "smuggle social security numbers" from the people she met with, but she only met with seven people individually and all of them said that she never did anything like that.
http://www.snopes.com/military/fonda.asp
I am very curious as to why Jane traveled into North Vietnam when she did, it would appear to be a very unusual time for a vacation and more likely a task she was forced to undertake as a publicity stunt by the North Vietnamese. It is also interesting, regardless if that is the case, that it was a woman who went and not a man, would the reaction have been the same if it were Jack Fonda?
ReplyDeleteI wonder why people thought that Jane Fonda was taking social security numbers. Also, it doesn't have to be a publicity stunt. It could have been that she originally wanted to motivate the troops, and because she didn't do that, the army might have wanted her to get bad public opinion by saying she took social security numbers.
ReplyDeleteI wonder why people thought that Jane Fonda was taking social security numbers. Also, it doesn't have to be a publicity stunt. It could have been that she originally wanted to motivate the troops, and because she didn't do that, the army might have wanted her to get bad public opinion by saying she took social security numbers.
ReplyDeleteI remember from my history books in high school that she was also label as a North Vietnamese war sympathizer. This led to a lot of people in the United States to boycott the movies she acted in during and after the war. I think this was why she was called "Hanoi Jane."
ReplyDeleteI think it is amazing that she is still an actress even after going through something so scandalous. She also has appeared in many movies since then. I never would have suspected her to be apart of something that would affect so many peoples lives and cause such public outrage. This event also shows how much the media can ruin a person live.
ReplyDeleteI think it is amazing that she is still an actress even after going through something so scandalous. She also has appeared in many movies since then. I never would have suspected her to be apart of something that would affect so many peoples lives and cause such public outrage. This event also shows how much the media can ruin a person live.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that an actress like Jane Fonda would get involved with Vietnam the way she did, and how the U.S. Military used her as an informant for information that can be used for future warfare despite her good intentions to provide general information about what North Vietnam looked like. It makes me curious to how she was allowed to tour North Vietnam though.
ReplyDeleteI am confused as to why Jane Fonda was chosen to visit North Vietnam of all people. Also id she really have a purpose there? Seems like she was just used to get information or as a propaganda tool.
ReplyDeleteI was really surprised by this! I never expected that things like these actually have such an impact, even nowadays, people still hold this situation against her.
ReplyDeleteI still wonder more about who jane fonda is and why the government set her up as a red herring for blame against compassion for the vietnamese. Even though she had good intentions she was made out to be a sympathizer. It also raises questions to how she was allowed access to this area.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame to me regarding the amount of hate Jane received when she returned home. Seems like she was completely set up by the government, though she was unaware at the time. Jane being a well known actress at the time gained the whole country's attention and it's unfair to me the way she was treated after her return.
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