Captain Kangaroo turned 76 recently, which is odd, because he's neverlooked a day under 76. (DOB:6/27/27) It reminded me of the following story. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Some people have been a bit offended that the actor, Lee Marvin, is buried in a grave alongside 3 and 4 star generals at Arlington NationalCemetery. His marker gives his name, rank (PVT) and service (USMC).

Nothing else. Here's a guy who was only a famous movie star who served his time, why the heck does he rate burial with these guys?

Well, following is the amazing answer:

I always liked Lee Marvin, but did not know the extent of his Corps experiences. In a time when many Hollywood stars served their country in the armed forces, often in rear-echelon posts where they were carefully protected, only to be trotted out to
preform for the cameras in war bond promotions, Lee Marvin was a genuine hero. He won the Navy Cross at Iwo Jima. There is only one higher Naval award...the Medal Of Honor. If that is a surprising comment on the true character of the man, he credits his sergeant with an even greater show of bravery.

Dialog from The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson: His guest was Lee Marvin.

Johnny said, "Lee, I'll bet a lot of people are unaware that you were a = Marine in the initial landing at Iwo Jima...and that during the course = of that action you earned the Navy Cross and were severely wounded.

"Yeah, Yeah, I got shot square in the ass" and they gave me the Cross for securing a hot spot about halfway up Suribachi... bad thing about getting shot up on a mountain is guys gettin' shot hauling you down.

But Johnny, at Iwo I served under the bravest man I ever knew... We both got the Cross the same day, but what he did for his Cross made mine look cheap in comparison. The dumb bastard actually stood up on Red beach and directed his troops to move forward and get the hell off the beach. That Sergeant and I have been lifelong friends. When they brought me off Suribachi we passed the Sergeant and he lit a smoke and passed it to me,lying on my belly on the litter, and , 'Where'd they get you Lee?' "Well Bob... if you make it home before me, tell Mom to sell the outhouse!"

Johnny, I'm not lying... Sergeant Keeshan was the bravest man I ever knew... Bob Keeshan...You and the world know him as Captain Kangaroo."

On another note, there was this wimpy, little man (who just passed away) on PBS, gentle and quiet. Mr. Rogers is another of those you would least suspect of being anything but what he now portrays to our youth. But Mr. Rogers was a U.S. Navy Seal, combat proven in Vietnam, with over twenty-five confirmed kills to his name. He wore a long sleeve sweater to cover the many tattoo's on his forearm and biceps. A master in small arms and hand-to-hand combat, able to disarm or kill in a heartbeat. He hid that away and won our hearts with his quiet wit and charm.

America's real heroes don't flaunt what they did, they quietly go about their day to day lives, doing what they do best. They earned our respect and the freedoms that we all enjoy.

Look around and see if you can find one of those heroes in your midst. Often, they are the ones you'd least suspect, but would most like to have on your side if anything ever happened. Just a side note, Mr. Rogers was also an ordained minister.

Very nice, Goofproof. Thanks for the info. I never new any of it.

Ah, Goofproof you should know better by now
Snopes says false

Bob Keeshan actually lives quite close to me in the state of Vermont. I have watched the Capt longer than most of the other peeps on 4Peeps and didn't know about his military service till this thread. My hats off to a great guy, actor comedian, straight man and American he has made our life richer.

I don't read Snope's, I only subscribe to National Inquirer.

The Truth:
This story almost complete fabrication.

Lee Marvin and Bob Keeshan did botrh serve in the Marines.

We checked with Bob Keeshan, who is now living in Vermont, and he said he never served at Iwo Jima, was not presented with the Navy Cross and, in fact, never saw combat.

There is no record of Lee Marvin at Iwo Jima or winning the Navy Cross. According to a biography that we have on file at TruthOrFiction.com, Marvin did see a lot of action in the Pacific participating in the invasions at Kwajalein and Eniwetok and was wounded in Saipan, for which he was awarded the Purple Heart. Marvin is buried in Arlington Cemetery

Looks like the Rabbit got the Carrots from the Captain again.

You forgot Fred, that was the one that threw a red flag up for me anyway.

Fred Rogers served as a sniper or as a Navy Seal during the Vietnam War, with a large number of confirmed kills to his credit.

This same rumor has often been applied to boyish country singer-songwriter John Denver (among others), and it's just as false when told of Fred Rogers. Not only did Fred Rogers never serve in the military, there are no gaps in his career when he could conceivably have served in the military ? he went straight into college after high school, he moved directly into TV work after graduating college, and his breaks from television work were devoted to attending the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (he was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1963) and the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Child Development. Moreover, Fred Rogers was born in 1928 and was therefore far too old for an active combat position in the Vietnam War.
Fred Rogers always wore long-sleeved shirts and sweaters on his show to conceal the tattoos on his arms he obtained while serving in the military.

As noted above, Fred Rogers never served in the military, and he bore no tattoos on his arms (or any other part of his body). He wore long-sleeved shirts and sweaters on his show to maintain an air of formality ? although he was friendly with the children in his viewing audience and talked to them on their own level, he was most definitely an authority figure on a par with parents and teachers (he was Mister Rogers to them, after all, not Fred), and his choice of dress was intended to establish and foster that relationship.

Lee Marvin did enlist in the U.S. Marines, saw action as Private First Class in the Pacific during World War II, and was wounded (in the buttocks) by fire which severed his sciatic nerve. However, this injury occurred during the battle for Saipan in June 1944, not the battle for Iwo Jima, which took place several months later, in February 1945. (Marvin also did receive a Purple Heart, and he is indeed buried at Arlington National Cemetery.)

Bob Keeshan, later famous as television's "Captain Kangaroo," also enlisted in the U.S. Marines, but too late to see any action during World War II. Keeshan was born on 27 June 1927 and enlisted two weeks before his 18th birthday, months too late to have taken part in the fighting at Iwo Jima. A 1997 interview with Keeshan noted that he "later enlisted in the U.S. Marines but saw no combat" because, as Keeshan said, he signed up "just before we dropped the atom bomb."

Mr Rogers never served ,

Hm, who makes up these stories anyway??!

Snopes

Haha, sounds like a good business plan!