Lee Marvin and Captain Kangaroo
Damn, I was tricked! Just got this in an email, only to find out that some of it is fake. Will add more at the bottom:
Lee MarvinWHY DID MR. ROGERS WEAR A SWEATER?
Captain Kangaroo passed away on January 23, 2004 at age 76,
which is odd, because he always looked to be 76. (DOB: 6/27/27 )
His death 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 bottom 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 getting
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.
That dumb guy 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."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_MarvinMarvin left school to join the United States Marine Corps, serving as a Scout Sniper in the 4th Marine Division.[8] He was wounded in action during the WWII Battle of Saipan, in the assault on Mount Tapochau, during which most of his company ("I" Company, 24th Marines, 4th Marine Division) were killed.[9] Marvin's wound (in the buttocks) was from machine gun fire, which severed his sciatic nerve.[10] He was awarded the Purple Heart and was given a medical discharge with the rank of Private First Class.[11] Contrary to rumors, Marvin did not serve with producer and actor Bob Keeshan during World War II.
Bob Keeshan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_KeeshanAfter early graduation from Forest Hills High School in Queens, NY in 1945, during World War II, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve, but was still in the United States when Japan surrendered. He attended Fordham University on the GI Bill.
And another article I found:
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/lmarvin.htmThe message says that Lee Marvin appeared on the Tonight Show in the 70's when host Johnny Carson brought up Marvin's record in the Marines. Carson said people may not have known that Marvin fought in Iwo Jima, one of the best known battles of World War II, and was awarded the Navy Cross. Marvin then tells a story of heroism in battle about the bravest man he ever knew who was also awarded the Navy Cross ... Bob Keeshan who later became best known as Captain Kangaroo.
We can't say for sure whether actor Lee Marvin ever related something like the story described to Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show (Marvin was a guest on the show seven times during Carson's tenure as host), but the details of the anecdote are undeniably false.
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."
Finally, neither of these men served together and certainly neither of them earned the Navy Cross for bravery while serving in the Marine Corps.
STILL a USMC Hero in my book!!!!
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Originally Posted by jimnyc
