Jane Fonda’s complex context

I am appalled at the hoopla of media attention being given Jane Fonda and her new book [“No Ordinary Jane,” by Susan Salter Reynolds, April 5]. Fine, perhaps she has some excuse from her upbringing that resulted in a tempestuous lifestyle, but neither that nor devoting an entire chapter to her trip to Hanoi with a couple of mea culpas makes everything all right.

Fonda states that her “awakening” period in the ‘60s was like changing from a “noun to a verb.” In this household, she is still considered an “expletive.”

Bob Phipps

Thousand Oaks

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A lot of veterans are still mad at Jane Fonda for her antiwar activities. I am a Marine Corps Vietnam veteran. I served continuously in the forward combat zones for my entire tour. I too am angry with many people about the war. If I had to make a list it would go something like this:

Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon for getting us into and keeping us in a war with that small, poor country that was not then, nor could it ever be, a threat to the United States. Robert Strange McNamara, secretary of Defense, for continuing to support the war publicly when he knew it was a lost cause. The American generals who lied about body counts and gave optimistic reports on the progress of the war when they knew better. The admirals who sent planes on dangerous missions over North Vietnam, carrying a single bomb, to keep up their sortie counts. The corrupt leadership of South Vietnam. Lt. William Calley, the murderer of My Lai, and the generals who covered up that massacre, who disgraced every veteran who served in Vietnam.

My list would be very long indeed before Jane Fonda’s name would appear.

Jack Swallows

San Juan Capistrano