Interesting viewpoint on "Women of the Century" --- (Webmaster's Note: The information here about "Hanoi Jane" has been collected and compiled, and modified, from several sources. It is common knowledge, however, that incidents of the kind described here did occur during Fonda's visits to North Vietnam).

The Fonda-Hayden trip (in July of 1972) became unforgettable because it infuriated most Americans, especially Americans in uniform, many of whom still regard her as a traitor.

She praised the North Vietnamese, posed for a photo at a Communist anti-aircraft gun emplacement, (a photo I personally remember having seen, which appeared as if she were trying to shoot down American planes - Webmaster) and made several radio broadcasts for the Communist North Vietnamese in which she called American military leaders "war criminals".

Then when some of the POWs returned home and described mistreatment by the North Vietnamese, she said Americans should ". . . not hail the POWs as heroes, because they are hypocrites and liars." There is no dispute that her visit took place, that her words and actions were in support of the enemy, and that her conduct caused considerable harm to the war effort and to some of the prisoners of war.

Many of us over 50 remember that during the Vietnam war Jane Fonda opposed the war, as many others, but she went to Vietnam and embarrassed the U.S. Government and the prisoners of war by her actions. Some of these actions are spelled out above and below. It is appalling that her actions have been forgotten and that she may be honored as one of the "100 Women of the Century."

Looks like Hanoi Jane may be honored as one of the "100 Women of the Century". JANE FONDA remembered?

Unfortunately many have forgotten and still countless others have never known how Ms. Fonda betrayed not only the idea of our "country" but the men who served and sacrificed during Vietnam. There are few things I have strong visceral reactions to, but Jane Fonda's participation in what I believe to be blatant treason, is one of them.

Take a look at the following from one who was a prisoner of the Vietnamese. (The following part of this item is from what Michael Benge wrote. He was a civilian captured by the North Vietnamese in 1968. In his statement, he also makes reference to a missionary nurse who died in captivity. That was Betty Olsen, a Christian Missionary Alliance nurse from New York).

"To whom it may concern: I was a civilian economic development advisor in Vietnam, and was captured by the North Vietnamese communists in South Vietnam 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 placed on my hands, and beaten with a bamboo cane every time my arms dipped. I had the opportunity to meet with Jane Fonda for a couple of hours after I was released. I asked her if she would be willing to debate me on TV. She did not answer me, her former husband, Tom Hayden, answered for her."

This does not exemplify someone who should be honored as "100 Years of Great Women." Please take the time to read and forward this 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".

Lest we forget... "100 years of great women!"