Lee Marvin, Capt Kangaroo & Mister Rogers

[Walt's Daughter]

Captain Kangaroo passed away on January 23, 2004 as age 76, which is odd, because he always looked to be 76. (DOB: 6/27/27.) It reminded me of the following story.

 

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 National Cemetery. 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 didn't 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 perform 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 Jima 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! That dumb b......d actually stood up on Red beach and directed his troops to move forward and get the hell off the beach. Bullets flying by, with mortar rounds landing everywhere and he stood there as the main target of gunfire so that he could get his men to safety. He did this on more than one occasion because his men's safety was more important than his own life.''

 

‘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 said,'' 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.....The Sergeant's name is 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-sleeved sweater on TV, to cover the many tattoos on his forearm and biceps. He was a master in small arms and hand-to-hand combat, able to disarm or kill in a heartbeat.

 

After the war Mr. Rogers became an ordained Presbyterian minister and therefore a pacifist. Vowing to never harm another human and also dedicating the rest of his life to trying to help lead children on the right path in life. He hid away the tattoos and his past life 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.

 

(Added note: Before Bob Keeshan was Capt. Kangaroo, he was Clarabell the Clown on the Howdy Doody Show).

PLEASE READ THE POSTS BELOW FOR THE WHOLE TRUTH!

[Dogdaddy]

Wonderful story Marion. I knew that all three were Vets, but was without the details before now. Hard to imagine Mr. Rogers with 25 kills, but that's a testimony to the changes in man that are made possible with God. As for Bob Keeshan, I can still remember the day that "Howdy Doody" signed off for the last time, and Clarabell the clown finally got to speak. He said "Goodbye Kids" and I burst into tears in front of the old round Zenith TV screen! May they rest in Peace.

 

[rwrich51]

Lee Marvin served with the 4th Marine Division in a reconnaissance co. He fought with them on the islands of Eniwetoh, Kwajalein and Saipan were he was wounded in the rear end severing the sciatic nerve on June 18 1944. He spent the next thirteen months in naval hospitals. He was awarded the Purple Heart and campaign medals but not the Navy Cross. He did not serve on Iwo Jima nor did Bob Keeshan who enlisted at 17 after Iwo Jima was over and was still in training when the war ended. As for Mr Rogers he never serve in the military and all.

[j3rdinf]

RWRitch51: Yes, I read on line something like this on another site and it proved to be untrue. Checked out snopes.com and they verified it was untrue. Looks like you are correct. Too many "urban myths" are circulated. Of course snopes could possibly be wrong but I doubt it as their butt would be on the chopping block. Kinda makes me wonder about Lee Marvin.

[Walt's Daughter]

The Lee Marvin story is partly true. He wasn't at Iwo. He was a Saipan. Captain Kangaroo DID NOT fight alongside Lee. He came into the war at the very end.

 

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/lmarvin.htm

 

 

Keeshan joined the Marine Corps in 1945 but did not see action in World War II; the popular Internet rumor that he fought on Iwo Jima alongside actor Lee Marvin is not true. For details, see our loop Legends of E-Mail.

[pdhinkle]

MORE from my source http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl-m...vin-keeshan.htm so what is true?

 

Marion has it straight. Thanks. Anyone who has a tape of this show that has Lee Marvin refferrring to Bob as a fellow Marine in combat has a doctored tape.On the original and copy shown later Lee M first refferred to another SGT. as the greatest. It was NOT Bob K. In the same show he did refer to Bob K and othe actors as being combat veterans, possibly in error. Anyone could doctor a tape to have Lee M say good things about Bob K and others. I say this because in my limited ability I could do the same, BUT would not do so.

[Walt's Daughter]

Here's the truth. Easier to put it here than to have everyone try and read all the links posted.

 

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Despite sundry grains of truth sprinkled throughout — including the fact that both actor Lee Marvin and Bob "Captain Kangaroo" Keeshan were Marines during World War II (Keeshan a reservist), and that Marvin really was wounded in the buttocks while storming a beachhead (though in Saipan, not Iwo Jima) — the story is fundamentally false. According to their respective biographies, Marvin had already been injured and shipped back to the United States with a Purple Heart by the time Keeshan entered basic training. They could not have encountered one another in combat. Neither was awarded the Navy Cross.

 

At the age of 20, Lee Marvin was a private in the U.S. Marines 4th Division, part of the Allied landing force that invaded the Japanese-held Pacific island of Saipan on July 15, 1944. He was wounded three days later on July 18, spent the next 13 months in Navy hospitals recovering from a severed sciatic nerve, and was discharged in 1945.

 

Bob Keeshan signed up for the Marine Corps Reserve shortly before his 18th birthday in 1945. Since the war was all but over by the time he finished basic training, it's unlikely Keeshan ever saw combat before completing his service a year later, let alone attained the rank of sergeant.

 

Those old enough to remember Lee Marvin's occasional appearances on TV talk shows up until his death in 1987 will find the manner and spirit of the storytelling reminiscent of the man himself, but it seems unlikely he would have trumpeted such blatant lies about another man's service record over national television, nor have I been able to find any evidence in the form of tapes or transcripts that prove he did so.

 

Update: A version of this message circulating since March 2003 includes an addendum claiming that Fred Rogers, host of public television's "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood," was an ex-Marine sniper (or, in another version, a Navy Seal) with dozens of wartime kills to his credit. This, too, is false.