I keep receiving the same letter, each time from a different source. The letter, which has various titles, says near the bottom:
Please take the time to read and forward 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."
The letter (which I will not provide here for fear of worsening the situation), claims to contain the recollections of Jerry Driscoll, Larry Carrigan, and A.J. Myers, all of whom were Prisoners of War in Vietnam.
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As will be seen below, all of these claims are false. The problem here is one of freedom of speech. My name is Sam Sloan, and my daughter was kidnapped from the front yard of my house in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates on October 7, 1990. I often send letters by e-mail trying to bring about the recovery of my kidnapped daughter and trying to have the kidnappers arrested, prosecuted and sent to prison for their crimes.
As a result, I believe that political messages should be allowed on the Internet. However, these messages attacking Jane Fonda have been proven to be false and yet every day a few million more of them are sent.
It is clearly possible that some nut, not realizing that the letters have been proven to be false, will take it upon himself to go out and kill Jane Fonda.
I am sure she must be aware of the threatening nature of these letters and she no doubt by now has several body guards in her employ.
I do not know the solution to this problem. All I can do is post on my web site the following letters which demonstrate that the claims being made about Jane Fonda are false.
Sam Sloan
Hi CC: Sorry to bother you with a long message, but I thought you needed to see a message that I sent to some folks who were establishing web pages with completely false stories which had been submitted to them as true stories. They agreed to stop after learning that they had received bogus information. NAM-POW names of: Jerry Driscoll, Larry Carrigan, and A.J. Myers have been connected, falsely, with the below stories. If any of you see these false stories passed around the net from group to group, please send a copy of this message to the sender and try to get this nonsense and slander of McCain, Driscoll, Carrigan, and A.J stopped.
Thanks, Mike McGrath, President of NAM-POWs....
(1) There is a bogus story floating around about Larry Carrigan, Jane Fonda, torture of POWs, death of POWs, strips of paper, notes given to Jane, etc. I just thought you should know that this is all bull crap propagated by someone for some unknown purpose....probably to bolster some hate against the traitorous witch. I'm not defending her, we all hate her as much as the next person, but you need to get your stories straight. Jerry Driscoll is my Secretary/Treasurer. I just talked to him. Same for A.J. Myers. They had nothing to do with the article attributed to them. They ask that we get their names off that bunch of crap. Tonight I talked with Larry Carrigan. He asked that we get his name off all that crap as well. He never left a room to talk to anyone like that. No torture or beatings to see Fonda. He was living with Bud Day, John McCain and a bunch of hard nosed resistors during the Fonda visit...lots of witnesses if you want to question him (or them). Larry was never near Jane. There were never any POWs killed on account of Jane. (Did anyone ever provide a name of one of these tortured fellows?) That story about the notes has a nice theatric touch, but no such thing ever happened. The only ones who met with Jane willingly, to my knowledge, were CDR Gene Wilber and LCOL Ed Miller. One NAM-POW was forced to go before the Fonda delegation. And I think that was only to sit at a table for a photo opportunity. I doubt he even got a chance to talk to her let alone slip her a note. To my knowledge, the worst that happened to the rest of us was that we had to listen to the camp radio (Radio Hanoi and Hanoi Hannah) with the Fonda propaganda. It pissed us off, but I doubt you can call that "torture." So, if you get a chance to SHUT THIS STORY DOWN to the groups who are forwarding it, PLEASE DO SO. You can cut and paste this paragraph is you want to. Doubters can come to me if they need to.
Mike McGrath, President of NAM-POWs. POW 30 June 67 to 4 march 73. mmcgrath@iex.net
(2) Next, the false stories of John McCain's conduct. Again, there are false stories floating around the net about McCain. He was never missing from our group for six months. He never co-operated with the enemy. We have dozens of us who lived with and around John for his entire time (10-26-67 to 14 March 73). Larry Carrigan, for one, lived with or near both John and Ted Guy. Larry says Ted would never make the statements which are being attributed to him ...and Ted can't set the record straight because he is dead. We have dozens of roommates who will vouch for the loyalty and courage and conduct of John McCain. Here is a more accurate story: John had both arms and at least one leg badly hurt on ejection. He was bayoneted near the groin by a soldier as they were pulling him from the lake. After three days of interrogations and no cooperation, he was near death. They found out his father was Admiral McCain. They stopped the interrogations, gave him medical care, brought in a French reporter (with camera), and let him make a statement to his family that he was alive and would recover and come home. After laying off the rough stuff, and trying to get John to cooperate by the "good guy" treatment for a couple of weeks, they got pissed off that he would not give information or cooperate. So, they threw him in a cell with Bud Day (MOH recipient) and Maj Norris Overly. McCain was in danger of dying from maltreatment. Maj Overly had to nurse both men back to health. From that point on, McCain resisted just as hard as any other POW. He went through the same interrogations and treatment. His roommates can testify to his valor and patriotism. In short, I think that the slanderous reports by faceless people (and some are attributed to Ted Guy...which I doubt are true) are from the bunch who are really pissed off that McCain made a political decision to back Clinton when Clinton decided it was time for "normalization" of diplomatic and trade relations, and it was time to have Ambassadorial level representation. To many, that made John a traitor. To most, it was just a political reality. It opened the door to better cooperation for a host of areas, including a full accounting of the POW/MIA issue (which is still an ongoing issue today. We have 2,060 yet to account for). If you want to get the straight story on McCain's conduct, please contact his roommates. Start with the Honorable Orson Swindle at OrsonIII@aol.com. Thanks for helping shut down these Phony stories. Again, you can copy this paragraph if it will help. Mike McGrath, President of NAM-POWs.
Bottom line: Who are these guys who pretend to know who the POWs are, what we are, how we think and thought, how we conducted ourselves, what we said, what we did, or why we did whatever. There are over 50 books written by or about us which pretty much detail our ordeal. For book list, see our web site at: www.eos.net/rrva/nampow/nampows.html If that isn't enough, please contact us personally and get the straight story. Over 280 of our e-mail addresses are on the NAM-POW web site. We also list the 300 or so Phony POWs on the Hall of Shame. But please don't attribute anything to us that is not verified. Thanks. Mike
For those with a genuine interest to find out about us, I suggest you get a very recently released book, 700 pages of hard hitting researched reality, "Honor Bound," by Frederick Kiley and Stuart Rochester (recently nominated for a Pulitzer for this work). This by far is the most comprehensive work ever done on our ordeal. Do you want to find out the truth about the Cuban Program, the torture, the brutality, etc. Just pick up your phone and call the Naval Institute at: 1-800-233-8764. Read this book first, then we'll talk to you about real POW experiences in Hanoi... not false stories of Hanoi.
-----end-----
Mr. Gruff, if you will read the prior posts which you have included and which are recited below, you will note the false reports never originated on this newsgroup. They came from alt.conspiracy.jfk flakes who were cross-posting. Then we have that idiot Sloan, a self-professed draft dodger, who comes on this newsgroup bragging about his draft dodging experience and criticizing this newsgroup for defaming his hero Jane Fonda.
In summary, don't blame this newsgroup for the false reports. But in the meanwhile, you can tell Mr. Sloan and his girl friend Jane to go to hell.
P.S. You can tell the POW's with whom you have communicated that we have the greatest respect for them, and we understand why they would not want false information disseminated. On the other hand, if there is any question about their attitude about Jane Fonda, I assure you that the one with whom I have personally communicated hates her guts and in 1999 gave separate interviews to at least three newspapers where his attitude about Jane Fonda has been unequivocally stated.
I too was foolish enough to believe those stories floating around about HANOI jane on NG's and found on certain peoples websites re: the slivers of paper with POW's SS#'s on them. Without first checking my sources, I immediately put the articles on my homepage. Within two days I received two emails. One was from Col. Jim Ray (POW) and the other from Mike McGrath; President of NAM-POW's Organization. They both requested that I take this false information down. Of course I respected their request and a formal apology to them and any other POW's remain on my homepage.
I learned something I already knew. Check your sources thoroughly. The letters that are on my homepage now from POW's to Ladies' Home Journal magazine are 100% factual.
Sincerely, Roy Stanford Vietnam Vets...
Welcome Home http://www.stealth.net/~stan
3rd Amtrac Bat.; 1stMarDiv.;"B"Co. 1967-69
I have read the article you just sent me. Nowhere does it support the claims by the Internet spammers that Fonda turned over scraps of paper she had received from the POWs to the Vietnamese.
I even understand that the persons named in the story, who actually were POWs, have said that the story is not true and want their names taken out.
Your group does itself a lot of harm by making false claims about Jane Fonda when you have legitimate complaints about her.
If your statement that "I am sure that some of my brothers will state it in language for you to understand" is intended to frighten me, you will not be successful, because the kidnappers of my daughter are vastly more determined, more dangerous and more heavily armed than anybody in your group, and yet I have been fighting against them as best I can for the past nine years.
Sam Sloan
Mr. Sloan, you have tuned into the wrong channel. You have no credibility and carry no respect among this newsgroup. Please assure us that we will not hear from you again. If you do not understand, I am sure that some of my brothers will state it in language for you to understand.
Charles G. White 8th Bn 4th Arty [1968]
Now: NCFICHJFRF [National Committee for Indictment and Conviction of Hanoi Jane Fonda on "Real Facts"]
Sam Sloan wrote in message I was an anti-war protester, demonstrating against the War in Vietnam in the 1960s. I am proud of it and do not hesitate to tell anybody about it. I successfully evaded the draft. I am proud of that too.
It look like the thread broke ---
Yep. Wonder why?
Incidentally, your "Dustoff" site is great.
-T. H. Rau
Maybe this will tie it back together:
Subj: Re: COMMENT: Jane Fonda Date: 10/26/99 1:32:16 PM Eastern Daylight Time From: pgalanti@i2020.net (Paul Galanti) To: MinervaCen@aol.com (Linda Grant De Pauw) CC: rhelbig@california.com, mmcgrath@mail.iex.net (Mike McGrath)
Roger Helbig sent me:
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From: "Roger Helbig" rhelbig@california.com To: pgalanti@i2020.net Subject: Re: COMMENT: Jane Fonda Date: Tue, 26 Oct 1999 10:09:51 -0700
Paul -
I think it would be a good idea if you were to send Professor Linda Grant de Pauw who moderates this list dealing with women in the military the correct Jane Fonda story - this list has been actively discussing some of the various rumors that you and the River Rats are trying to stamp out, and this latest post shows that there still is a great deal of confusion.
Roger Helbig rhelbig@california.com
-----Original Message----- From: Linda Grant De Pauw MinervaCen@aol.com To: H-MINERVA@H-NET.MSU.EDU H-MINERVA@H-NET.MSU.EDU Date: Tuesday, October 26, 1999 9:42 AM Subject: COMMENT: Jane Fonda
************************SNIP************************************
Linda,
Per Roger's note to me (above) the following is what Mike McGrath, President of Nam-POWs, our fraternal society of Vietnam POWs, sent us after some of the tales of "POWs' being tortured because of Jane Fonda" began surfacing in July. Mike also refutes some "BS" about John McCain. "CC" = our tap code for "All Hands"!
Paul Galanti CDR Paul Galanti, USN (Ret) Webmaster Vietnam POW "Three's In" Page (804) 359-6366 http://www.nampows.org personal page: http://www.eos.net/rrva/nampow/pgbio.html
Thank you for your defense of the poor innocent Internet spammers who are trying to get Jane Fonda killed by sending out not thousands but millions of e-mails attacking her.
I got another one today. It says at the bottom:
Please take the time to read and forward 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."
It is good that they have somebody like you to defend them by saying that only 300 of these letters have been sent out.
Sam Sloan