Elvis and Vietnam war

[tcb4]

Tom Barnett Asks Marty: [25.01.09]

Hi Marty,

I was listening to Elvis sing "too much monkey business" today and in the song he mentions Vietnam. This got me wondering.
I know Elvis liked to keep his personal views about that stuff to himself in interviews, but did he ever mention his feelings about that war?

Marty Says:

Hi Tom,
Although Elvis was patriotic he didn't like wars as most of us don't.
He supported the troops and the country and hated to hear when casualties were reported.
He kept that private amongst us as he did most political things.

[Xaykev]

Why not ask Sandi about this??

[tcb4]

ok you can ask or i can ...

[Steve G]

I read a reference to Elvis saying or writing in private that he basically abhorred The Smothers Brothers and Jane Fonda fo their anti-Vietnam War stands and saw them as unpatriotic, but I can't remember which book that was (and therefore assess how credible that is).

[drjohncarpenter]

I read a reference to Elvis saying or writing in private that he basically abhorred The Smothers Brothers and Jane Fonda fo their anti-Vietnam War stands and saw them as unpatriotic, but I can't remember which book that was (and therefore assess how credible that is).

You cannot remember "which book" because ALL evidence indicates Elvis neither wrote nor spoke such words. Thanks for the input, though.

[forum]

IMO. The vitriolic statements in this thread need to cease. Such statements are the antithesis of the peace which we desire. Exercise restraint when contemplating insulting others or drafting sarcastic posts meant to insult. Speculating on Elvis' thoughts on any subject is futility. Trying to establish Presley's complete thoughts on a complex subject(s) based on two words in a song or a statement in a rambling monologue moves from futility to just plain fantasy.

[tcb4]

I read a reference to Elvis saying or writing in private that he basically abhorred The Smothers Brothers and Jane Fonda fo their anti-Vietnam War stands and saw them as unpatriotic, but I can't remember which book that was (and therefore assess how credible that is).

i think it s in the goldman book

[Johnny 99]

elvis' opinion about the Vietnam war isn t clear despite he shook hands with Nixon. Given he never said anything publicly of this war ...

Yes, he did. Elvis made his opinion on Vietnam very clear in 1968:

Been to Vietnam
Been a fightin' in the war
Army bar, army chow, army clothes, army car

Uh-uh!

Too much monkey business
Too much monkey business
Too much monkey business for me to be involved in
Uh-huh-huh

[Steve G]

It might have been the Goldman book but I only flipped through it in the library and didn't take it out.

I'm wondering if it was Priscilla's autobio, but I don't have that one on hand.

The Elvis Encyclopedia by David Stanley mentions Elvis' distaste for Jane Fonda, John Lennon and Angela Davis on page 100. However, the reference I am thinking of involved The Smother Brothers, because I wasn't familiar with their politics before reading the alleged Elvis quote. Stanley seems to think Elvis was conservative.

Victor's Elvis Encyclopedia has a section on politics that seems real - that Elvis supported the President no matter what party he was from and that Elvis avoided public partisanship. Too bad that many current musicians and actors don't follow his wise example.

[drjohncarpenter]

Neither Goldman nor Stanley, either separately or together, may be considered reliable sources of information.

The record indicates that Presley held a variety of views, both conservative and liberal, on a number of different issues -- just like the majority of Americans, then and now.

As already noted, Elvis expressed public support for Adlai Stevenson, the 1956 Democractic candidate for president.

How unwise of him!

[Steve G]

Yes, that is what the Victor encyclopedia claims, but then he is not a reliable source of information.

Elvis said later he had fans who were Republicans and fans who were Democrats and didn't want to alienate any of them. I agree with him that wise.

It has changed a lot for the worse, with celebrities making political endorsements. They have every right to speak, but they have plenty of hubris to think the rest of us should take our cues from them. Like Wesley Clark having endorsements from Madonna and Jennnifer Lopez when he ran for president in 2004. Like anyone is going into a voting booth wondering, "gee, what would the skanky tone-deaf talentless pop tarts do in this situation?"

[tcb4]

well, one can suppose that 90% of the goldman book is true
the problem with the book is much more the negative style ...

[elvisjock]

In December, 1970, at a time when returning Vietnam veterans were being spat upon, Elvis handed $500 to a soldier on a plane. It was during the flight to Washington, and the Nixon meeting. Elvis told Jerry Schilling to give him whatever cash he was carrying. Jerry protested that the $500 was all they had, and Elvis gritted his teeth and said, "He's coming home from Vietnam, and it's Christmastime."

[drjohncarpenter]

Elvis said later he had fans who were Republicans and fans who were Democrats and didn't want to alienate any of them. I agree with him that wise.

Elvis never made such an explicit distinction, no matter how much you wish he did.

It has changed a lot for the worse, with celebrities making political endorsements. They have every right to speak, but they have plenty of hubris to think the rest of us should take our cues from them. Like Wesley Clark having endorsements from Madonna and Jennnifer Lopez when he ran for president in 2004. Like anyone is going into a voting booth wondering, "gee, what would the skanky tone-deaf talentless pop tarts do in this situation?"

They can't fool you!

[tcb4]

Do you remember, elvis' opinion about the Vietnam war ?

from Sandi


**It know the Vietnam war cropped up in many a conversation and several of the regular fans, at the time, wore those MIA bracelets with a soldiers name on it. That caught Elvis' attention and he wanted to know all about the reason behind them etc. He was given one which he seemed to be very pleased about. I don't think he liked that war any more than anyone else did at the time but he was supportive of the military - especially since one of the regular girls had a brother who was serving over there and would share updates with everyone. He was also very hung up on all things concerning communism and them trying to take over our country.

[Xaykev]

Do you remember, elvis' opinion about the Vietnam war ?

from Sandi


**It know the Vietnam war cropped up in many a conversation and several of the regular fans, at the time, wore those MIA bracelets with a soldiers name on it. That caught Elvis' attention and he wanted to know all about the reason behind them etc. He was given one which he seemed to be very pleased about. I don't think he liked that war any more than anyone else did at the time but he was supportive of the military - especially since one of the regular girls had a brother who was serving over there and would share updates with everyone. He was also very hung up on all things concerning communism and them trying to take over our country.

There you have the answer, Carpenter.

[tupelo_boy]

Or she's reflecting on Elvis her own views?

Still don't know what Elvis thought, and we never will...

Edit: IMHO

Best wishes

Geoff

[Little Darlin]

Do you remember, elvis' opinion about the Vietnam war ?

from Sandi


**It know the Vietnam war cropped up in many a conversation and several of the regular fans, at the time, wore those MIA bracelets with a soldiers name on it. That caught Elvis' attention and he wanted to know all about the reason behind them etc. He was given one which he seemed to be very pleased about. I don't think he liked that war any more than anyone else did at the time but he was supportive of the military - especially since one of the regular girls had a brother who was serving over there and would share updates with everyone. He was also very hung up on all things concerning communism and them trying to take over our country.

Read more about this here------------> http://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=44181&p=620719#p620719

[elvisjock]

Do you remember, elvis' opinion about the Vietnam war ?

from Sandi


**It know the Vietnam war cropped up in many a conversation and several of the regular fans, at the time, wore those MIA bracelets with a soldiers name on it. That caught Elvis' attention and he wanted to know all about the reason behind them etc. He was given one which he seemed to be very pleased about. I don't think he liked that war any more than anyone else did at the time but he was supportive of the military - especially since one of the regular girls had a brother who was serving over there and would share updates with everyone. He was also very hung up on all things concerning communism and them trying to take over our country.

I don't think that it's been mentioned that Elvis had a very personal interest in what was going on in Vietnam as his brother-in-law, Don Beaulieu, was serving over there. Peter Guralnick & Ernst Jorgensen (Day By Day, page 293) speculate that Elvis and Priscilla may even have flown from L.A. to Mount Holly, NJ, on 19 April 1971 to meet Don who was on leave at the time.

Priscilla's father served in Vietnam. Elvis mentioned his contributions, with pride and affection, when introducing him in Vegas in December, '76.

[drjohncarpenter]

There you have the answer, Carpenter.

Actually, no. But keep on rockin'!

[Steve G]

Elvis said later he had fans who were Republicans and fans who were Democrats and didn't want to alienate any of them. I agree with him that wise.

Elvis never made such an explicit distinction, no matter how much you wish he did.

I don't wish anything. He was very explicit about avoiding public partisanship, as related by his friends. And so he did.

It has changed a lot for the worse, with celebrities making political endorsements. They have every right to speak, but they have plenty of hubris to think the rest of us should take our cues from them. Like Wesley Clark having endorsements from Madonna and Jennnifer Lopez when he ran for president in 2004. Like anyone is going into a voting booth wondering, "gee, what would the skanky tone-deaf talentless pop tarts do in this situation?"

They can't fool you!

They couldn't anyone with an IQ above that of foliage. That's what makes their antics so laughable.

[TJ]

The Fonda reference is made here:
http://books.google.com/books?id=WVc87YdsL3YC&pg=PA128&lpg=PA128&dq=elvis+jane+fonda+fbi&source=bl&ots=SBZbe4IMj3&sig=Us7mp291e61-oN1lyTXsL3ImJyM&hl=en&ei=D88ISuiJNZKZjAehwNG3Cw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6

It's summarised on that page and then the original doc is on page 145.

[Daryl]

Elvis made reference to the Vietcong prior to the outtake of "The Love Machine" on the "Today, Tomorrow And Forever" boxset. --> "Duh Vietcong"

Daryl

[drjohncarpenter]

Here is the page in question from my archive, dated 1-4-71.

The relevant paragraph is highlighted -->





Trust the doc!

[TJ]

They seem like indirect quotes though. He doesn't say word-for-word what Elvis said, but seems to be summarising and paraphrasing specific exchanges that he deems to be of interest. Is it more likely that he chose to reflect what Elvis said or chose to randomly throw Jane Fonda and The Smothers Brothers into the mix when they hadn't been mentioned at all? It's not like the memo was intended for public consumption, so there was no PR advantage from having Elvis criticise Fonda. Also, his account is very precise about other details, like Elvis saying about how to reach him and the mail being tampered with, etc. Yes further evidence would be needed to be 100% sure that Elvis said it, but that doesn't mean the memo should be dismissed out of hand. If we do that, we might as well dismiss everything we've heard about Elvis' views that doesn't include a direct, verifiable quote from the man himself.

Anyway, doesn't this seem like a view Elvis might hold, given Fonda's antics of the time? This is pre-Hanoi, but she was already very controversial. Let's imagine Elvis coming across this quote from a speech Fonda gave at Michigan State University in 1970, as reported in the New York Times:

"I would think that if you understood what Communism was, you would hope, you would pray on your knees, that we would someday become communists."

I'm not sure of the context of the quote and whether or not it is qualified, but if Elvis saw that I can imagine him taking an instant dislike to the woman, regardless of whether he supported the Vietnam war or not. That question wouldn't be answered by the memo, even if its contents are accurate.