Aid and Comfort: Jane Fonda in North Vietnam (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Erika Holzer (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Important...an invaluable brief" -- Front Page

"Invaluable" -- History News Network

"Succeed[s] remarkably well in making a notoriously difficult topic understandable...interesting" -- The Washington Times

“Important...an invaluable brief” --Front Page

“Invaluable” --History News Network

“Succeed[s] remarkably well in making a notoriously difficult topic understandable...interesting” --The Washington Times --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description

Jane Fonda’s visit to Hanoi in July 1972 and her pro–North Vietnamese, anti–American conduct, especially her pose with an anti-aircraft gun used to shoot down American planes and her propaganda broadcasts directed toward American troops, angered many Americans. In their eyes, she was guilty of treason, but she was never charged by the American legal system. Instead, she has made millions, been the recipient of countless awards, and remained an honored American icon.

This work investigates Fonda’s activities in North Vietnam and argues that she could have been indicted for treason, that there would have been enough evidence to take the case to a jury, that she could have been convicted, and that a conviction probably would have been upheld on appeal. It also considers Fonda’s early life and the effect it had on her behavior and beliefs in her later years, her audience of American POWs who were forced by the Vietnamese to listen to her broadcasts condemning them as war criminals, her arrival in Vietnam and how it was viewed by American servicemen and civilians, the crime of treason throughout history, and the only Congressional inquiry into her actions, which resulted in the government’s decision to take no legal action against her. Texts of Fonda’s radio broadcasts to American servicemen comprise the appendix.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: McFarland & Company (March 4, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078641247X
• ISBN-13: 978-0786412471
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 7.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #542,992 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A thorough review of historico-legal precedent., June 14, 2002

By	Phil Dragoo (Santa Fe, New Mexico) - See all my reviews

This is a historico-legal research and summary of the applicable treason law--as actually applied to convict and sentence other American citizens who gave aid and comfort to our enemies during armed conflict.

The author clearly shows that Jane Fonda's actions in 1972 would have brought her case to a grand jury. Based on comparison to the actions of convicted American citizens during WWII, Jane Fonda would likely have been convicted as well.

The eight-minute O'Reilly Factor in which author Professor Henry Mark Holzer confronted Fonda's former husband and comrade Tom Hayden is devastating to observe. Hayden falls back on a lame First Amendment defense, and cannot even grasp that North Vietnamese leaders themselves said Fonda had given them the strength to continue.

The American citizens who broadcast for the Nazis and Japanese propaganda radio in WWII were convicted on less evidence than is displayed concerning Fonda's July, 1972 work for the North Vietnamese.

That the U.S. Department of Justice failed to prosecute for fear of a public relations backlash seems in retrospect cowardly and badly reasoned.

The service of our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines was valiant, and their betrayal by Fonda is a vile thing to behold. Her betrayal of the duties of a citizen is clear, and resonates in the cases of John Walker Lindh and Jose Padilla.

Aid and Comfort is relevant for then and now.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Scholarly, Thorough Discussion of Treason, November 19, 2006

By	Beth Fox "Beth A. Fox" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It is now more than 30 years since the last Americans left Saigon, and while most of the embers stoked in the 1960s have cooled, the visit by anti-war activist Jane Fonda to North Vietnam still inflames many. Given the temperature of the topic, any indictment of Fonda should be documented thoroughly and analyzed rigorously. The review of Fonda's activities should be divorced from any discussion of the merit of the war itself (or whether the United States was right to have been involved.) This book fits the bill on all counts.

Unsurprisingly, since one of the authors is a law professor emeritus, this book is written as a legal brief would be: the Holzers discuss the facts in detail; then explain the law; and finally apply the law to the facts. "Aid and Comfort" starts with a discussion of Fonda's early life and her involvement as a young adult with left-leaning French friends of her then-husband Roger Vadim. None of this background is necessary for the indictment, as Fonda's motive in going to Vietnam is irrelevant -- what counts are her acts. Nonetheless, it is interesting, and provides a picture of a very insecure woman whose political opinions were formed and shaped by the men with whom she was involved.

The next chapter is a harrowing discussion of the treatment of American POWs by the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong. It is hard to read, but is necessary to demonstrate the effects that Fonda's words would have on these servicemen. After all, broadcasting propoganda aimed at destroying the spirit of those who were barely clinging to life is more serious than disseminating it to a well-fed population with other sources of news. (In either case, as the Holzers demonstrate, a charge of treason could be levied.) The authors then discuss Fonda's actual speeches (reproduced in full at the end of the book.) They make an eye-popping read. I was unaware, for example, that Fonda had falsely accused the POWs themselves of taking anti-war positions -- a charge which could only sap the strength and morale of these men when the broadcasts were later played to them.

The Holzers then devote two chapters to a detailed discussion of the law of treason. Although legal discussions sometimes can be dry for non-lawyers, the facts of the cases (including the prosecutions of "Axis Sally" and "Tokyo Rose") are interesting and the authors clearly explain the standards for treason. The book then demonstrates why there is enough evidence against Fonda to at least bring a case to a jury. That the government did not do so was due more to the politics of the time than any lack of proof.

Many believe that we should put the Vietnam War behind us and stop ripping scabs off festering wounds. This, in my opinion, is the wrong way to view it. As with Holocaust survivors, the POWs of Vietnam need some measure of justice, no matter how late it comes. While the US government will never actually prosecute Fonda, this book provides necessary healing by trying -- and convicting -- Fonda in the "moral" court.

41 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unmasking Jane Fonda, September 23, 2002

By A Customer

This book should be read by everyone like myself who, at one time, felt that Jane Fonda was an American idol. The revelations described here, with the irrefutable primary source evidence, will convince even the most diehard supporters that Jane Fonda committed treason as defined by the U.S. Constitution. Instead of being deified by women's groups and opponents of the Vietnam War ( of which I number myself) she should be indicted for treason. The treachery and malevolence of this woman is a revelation.