Hanoi Jane never really apologized...I think she used the word *regret*...I remember at the time that the VN vets did not consider it an apology.
I for one did not consider it an apology. When she did it I wrote her and told her it was not accepted.
In 1988, some 16 years after her tour of Hanoi when she made her famous radio broadcast and had her picture taken behind the same anti- aircraft guns that were shooting down US pilots, Jane Fonda appeard on 20/20 and was interviewed by Barbara Walters. Two versions of this interview exist, one an actual transcript, the other a press release.The transcript reads:
Barbara Walters: "There are still people who . . . I guess feel you have never apologized. Would you like to just say something to them now?"
Jane Fonda: "Well . . . it's not . . . I would like to say something not just to . . . the Vietnam veterans . . . in New England . . . but . . . to . . . to men who were in Vietnam who . . . who I hurt . . . or who's pain I caused to . . . deepen because of things I said . . . or did . . . I . . . I feel that I owe them an apology . . . my intentions were never to hurt them . . . or to make their situation worse, it was . . . it was the contrary . . . I was trying to help end the war . . . but there were times when I was thoughtless and careless about it and I . . . and I am very sorry . . . that I hurt them . . . and I want to apologize to them and to their families . . . ."
This was released to the media as:
I would like to say something, not just to Vietnam veterans in New England, but to men who were in Vietnam, who I hurt, or whose pain I caused to deepen because of things that I said or did," Fonda said.
"I was trying to help end the killing and the war, but there were times when I was thoughtless and careless about it and I'm . . . very sorry that I hurt them. And I want to apologize to them and their families."
In both versions, there is a direct reference to the veterans in New England and this points to the reason for the timing of the apology.
At the time, Fonda was filming "Stanley and Iris" on location in a number of blue-collar New England towns. Production on the movie was being severely disrupted by protesting veterans and this was causing a serious problem for the film. Fonda decided that something had to be done, so she went on 20/20.