Tim Keenan of Veterans For Peace Chapter in Traverse City, Michigan, recently attended a talk given by Jane Fonda and Michael Moore.
Tim Keenan had the chance to address Jane, saying “If I could, what I would do right now is I would come up to you and I would drape the Congressional Medal of Honor around you,” said Tim Keenan, a Vietnam War veteran. “I’m so proud of you for all the work you’ve done and all that you have endured, the adversity and your courage.”
Tim's comments came after protests outside by Viet Nam era veterans who protested the festival over Fonda's anti-war activism in the 1970s. The actress drew heavy criticism after she was photographed atop an anti-aircraft gun during a controversial 1972 visit to North Vietnam. (Fonda has acknowledged making a “mistake” by posing for the photo and has expressed regret over the message it sent to soldiers and their families.)
Jane Fonda has spent a lifetime as an activist, working on social justice issues that range from anti-war, feminism, Palestine, and environmental concerns. She has even been named a Goodwill Ambassador by the United Nations. (And fun fact spoke out against the war at a rally organized by Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. She offered to help raise funds for VVAW and, for her efforts, was rewarded with the title of Honorary National Coordinator.)
Tim's comments made national news, with the below article picked up by hundreds of publications, (and sparking some nasty letters to the editor in Tim's hometown paper).
Red Carpet Rolls Out: Jane Fonda gets star treatment
NYTimes: Jane Fonda Honored at Michigan Film Festival Amid Protest
Jane Fonda honored at Michigan film festival amid protest