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1. JANE FONDA’S ROLE IN THE WAR & THE USS
MADDOX INCIDENT
FIONA THAI & GE SHI
NOVEMBER 20, 12
ELA 30—1

2. I: Jane Fonda
• American actress, writer, political activist, former
fashion model, fitness guru.
• Activist for many political causes (Vietnam war).
Fonda in Barbarella

3. II: Jane Fonda
“…Joint Chiefs of Staff were there, and a couple of popes, and a first lieutenant
named Jimmy Cross, and the last surviving veteran of the American Civil War, and Jane
Fonda dressed up as Barbarella, and an old man sprawled beside a pigpen, and my
grandfather… ” (p.185)
• When O’Brien is standing at this decision point, to flee to Canada
steps away, or turn back to go to war, he hears voices that are either
urging him to war or away.
Barbarella is a movie Fonda
rose to fame in (1960s). In it,
she is the protagonist and
heroic.

4. I: FONDA’S ROLE IN THE WAR
 Fonda, Fred Gardner, Donald Sutherland formed “Free
The Army”. Road show that
toured & visited towns
along West Coast of
United States in the 1970.
 Goal: establish dialogue with
soldiers about their upcoming
deployments to Vietnam
 Dialogue was made into movie
(F.T.A, released 1972) &
contained strong criticism
of war by service men
& women
Fonda holds up a sign during
anti-war road show (F.T.A)
performance

5. II: FONDA’S ROLE IN THE WAR
 Supportive of Communist North Vietnam. In radio
broadcast (Aug 22, 1972):
Says peasants who had been interviewed talked
about when “ t h e i r p a r e n t s h a d t o s e l l t h e m s e l v e s t o l a n dl o r d s a s v i r t ua l l y
s l a v e s, w h e n t h e r e w e r e v e r y f e w s c h o ol s a n d m u c h i l l it e r a c y , i n a d e q ua t e
m e d i ca l c a r e , w h e n t h e y w e r e n o t m a s t e r s o f t h e i r o w n l i v e s ”, before the
communist revolution.
 After the revolution, despite crimes against them by
Nixon, people have their own land, education, &
prostitution was wiped out.
 She had been going in and out of North Vietnam
frequently, visiting American prisoners of war and
delivering their letters and saying encouraging words.

6.  Anti-war demonstrations were
interpreted by the N.V as a
weakening of the American resolve
to win war. Encouraged
participation in war even more after
military defeat of N.V
in the Tet offensive
of 1968.
>20,000 lives were lost.
Tet Offensive in 1968

7.  Fonda tried to portray
herself as a peace protestor
against all wars & held
image as woman trying to
stop war by showing the
N.V communists were
treating their prisoners well.
Prisoner of War (POW) being carried
Had interviews with some
prisoners in which they
talked about humane
treatments in these prisons.
 Unknown to many, these were staged.
When prisoners returned home after war
in 1973, they revealed true inhumane
treatment during their time in N.V.

8.  A POW, Michael Benge said that he “spent
three days on [his] knees with outstretched arms with
a piece of steel placed on [his] hands, and beaten
with a bamboo cane every time [his] arms dipped”
when he told the officers that he agreed
to meet Fonda to tell her about terrible
conditions in the prison camps.
 Senator McCain also revealed that he
had been tortured by his guards when he
refused to meet with Fonda’s group
 Fonda dismissed these accusations and
said that POWs were “hypocrites and
liars”
 Many considered Fonda as treasonous
and got her the nickname of “Hanoi
Jane”. Hanoi being in North Vietnam and
the capital of Vietnam.

9.  Fonda was photographed
seated on a anti-aircraft gun
during her trip to Hanoi, North
Vietnam in 1972. Looked like
she was trying to shoot down
U.S air planes. Years later, in
2011 Fonda apologized
about the incident but
people had little care for her
words.
 Many Americans held onto
the fact that she named her
and Tom Hayden’s, a pro-
communist radical leader,
Jane Fonda seated on
anti-aircraft gun son Troy, after Communist
hero Nguyen Van Troi.

10. Jane Fonda & O’Brien
• Neither of them supported war. O’Brien: drafted in 1968.
Would have know about Fonda’s F.T.A road shows & anti-war
activities.
• Fonda was dressed as Barbarella on shore, cheering to run to
Canada, to desert.

11. USS Maddox Incident Preview
 “Tonkin Gulf incident”. August 2 & 4, 1964
 After death of Kennedy, Johnson worried
about South Vietnam’s ability to fend off
Communist Viet Cong guerrillas in country.
 Began increasing military aid (patrol boats)
to South Vietnam
to increase
pressure on
North Vietnam.
 “What really happened to
the USS Maddox on that
dark night in the Gulf of
Tonkin?” (first pg, p.71)

12. I:FIRST ATTACK August 2, 1964
 USS Maddox (destroyer boat) patrolled
international waters around N.V in the Gulf of
Tonkin, conducting DESOTO patrol
 Series of coastal attacks on N.V were made for
information collection
 In afternoon 3 torpedo boats
from N.V attacked the USS
Maddox

13. II: FIRST ATTACK August 2, 1964
 When Cpt. Herrick was alerted of attack, requested assistance
from USS Ticonderoga: F-8 Crusaders & USS Turner Joy.
 Herrick ordered 3 warning shots if Vietnamese came within 10,000
yards of USS Maddox.
 When fired N.V torpedo boats
launched torpedo
 US defeated boats. Johnson felt
US needed to continue
involvement even more.
USS Ticonderoga

14. I: SECOND ATTACK August 4, 1960
• Many unsure if attack truly happened (“What really happened to the
USS Maddox on that dark night…?”).
Allegedly occurred Aug 4,
2 days later, in middle of night.
• Maddox received radio, radar,
& sonar reports of another
attack by N.A.
• A few radar targets were fired
at. Later , 1:27AM Washington,
Herrick reported:
“Freak weather effects on radar and
overeager sonar men may have
accounted for many reports. No actual
sightings by Maddox.”
Page 1/3 of Cable regarding the
attack on the USS Maddox

15. II: SECOND ATTACK August 4, 1960
• Herrick requested further investigation by air in daylight before
further action. When aircrafts flew over, there were no
sightings of any North Vietnamese boats.
• People abroad Maddox and Turner Joy believed attack
occurred & with flawed signals intelligence from NSA, Johnson
ordered attacks on
North Vietnam, targeting
oil facilities in Vihn and Gulf of Tonkin Incident
30 ships.

16. CONTROVERSY
• Although crew on both destroyers insisted that the attack took
place, research from documents show that the second attack
did not happen
• The North Vietnamese Defense Minister, Vo Nguyen Giap also
denied second attack while admitting the first.
After involvements, Pres. Johnson went on television and
requested that a resolution that would not “seek a wider war”
but help by “expressing unity and determination of the United States in supporting
freedom and in protecting peace in Southeast Asia.”
Southeast Asia (Gulf of Tonkin) Resolution was approved on
August 10, 1964, giving Johnson the ability to use military power
in that area without a declaration of war. This allowed greater
American involvement in the Vietnam War.

17. On the Rainy River
USS Maddox Incidence

18. BIBLIOGRAPHY
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