This came as a surprise to me; First time I've heard this story

[eriksale]

Don't know if this has been posted before but just received from a friend and thought I'd pass along.

Dave

Captain Kangaroo passed away on January 23, 2004 at age 76 , which is odd, because he always looked like he was 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 d own. 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.'






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.



Take the time to thank anyone that has fought for our freedom... With encouragement they could be the next Captain Kangaroo or Mr. Rogers.







Send this on, will you please?
Nothing will happens to you if you don't, but you won't be telling others what a HERO is made of.

[revwardoc]

Sorry to burst your bubble, but:

http://www.snopes.com/military/celeb.../leemarvin.asp

[eriksale]

O'well sounded pretty good
Dave

[Bev Stayart]

The true heroes are the everyday heroes who never become famous.

[MORTARDUDE]

I get very, very little forwarded "information" that is really true on the Internet.

[Boats]

I can't prove what's been written but I found this list on a web site - thought you'd like to review it and comment accordingly -


Clarke Gable (USA)- Served in the US air-force during WW2. He worked primarily in public relations and morale-boosting but also trained as a gunner and he flew five missions on B-17s over Germany. War movies he appeared in included Command Decision

Jimmy Stewart (USA)- Trained as a bomber pilot for the USAAF in WW2, he served in the 8th Air-Force and flew 25 bombing missions over enemy territory as the pilot of a B-24. When he was interviewed for the 1970s documentary TV series 'The World at War', he recalled as the biggest fear- "the (German) fighter was the boogey-man....the fighter had eyes!" War movies he appeared in- Strategic Air-Command

Richard Todd (UK)- Was a Paratrooper in the British 6th Airborne division in WW2 and he saw action on D-Day in Normandy, 1944. He fought at the famous action at Pegasus Bridge and later acted in a scene in a film that re-created this battle. War movies he appeared in included- The Dam Busters, The Longest Day, D-Day: the 6th June, Operation Cross-Bow.

Donald Pleasance (UK) Flew as a Navigator in Lancaster bombers in British RAF Bomber-Command during the night-air offensive against Germany in WW2. His plane was shot down in 1944 and he was captured and placed in a POW camp where he was interrogated & tortured by the Gestapo. After the war, he seldom spoke about his wartime experiences. War movies he appeared in - The Great Escape, The Great Escape II (TV)

Charles Bronson (USA) Joined the United States air-force during WW2 and served in the war in Pacific against the Japanese. He flew 25 combat missions as a tail gunner in a B-29 in 1944/45, flying long-range bombing missions over Japan and received a Purple Heart for being wounded by shrapnel from anti-aircraft fire. War movies he appeared in include:- The Dirty Dozen, The Battle of the Bulge

Lee Marvin (USA) Joined the US Marine Corps at the outbreak of WW2. He fought in the Pacific against the Japanese and was wounded in the buttocks by shrapnel during the battle of Saipan in 1944. War movies he appeared in included:- The Dirty Dozen, The Big Red One, Hell in the Pacific.

Hardy Kruger (Germany). Was a member of the Hitler Youth until he was old enough to join the German army during the last stages of WW2. He fought against the Allies in Europe in 1945 as an infantryman in the Waffen-SS. War movies he appeared in included:- The One that got away, A Bridge Too Far, The Wild Geese and the Battle of the river Neretva.

Toshiro Mifune (Japan). Served in the Imperial Japanese Air-Force during WW2 as a member of an aerial reconnaissance and photography unit. War movies he appeared in included:- Midway, 1941, Hell in the Pacific.

Rod Steiger (USA). Served in the United States Navy in the Pacific during WW2 on board a Destroyer. His first introduction to war was when he was ordered to machine-gun and sink an un-armed Japanese civilian fishing boat whilst his ship was escorting the carrier USS Hornet en route to launching the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo in 1942. War movies he appeared in included:- Lion of the Desert, Waterloo, The Longest Day.

Henry Fonda (USA). Also served in the United States Navy in WW2 and, like Steiger, also fought in the Pacific on board a Destroyer. However he gained a higher rank (Quarter-Master) and was already an established actor when he enlisted in the Navy in 1943. He earned a Bronze Star for bravery. War movies included:- The Longest Day, Midway, Battle of the Bulge

Ernst Borgnine (USA). Served in the US Navy in WW2, rising to the rank of Gunner's 1st Mate. War movies included:- The Dirty Dozen, From Here to Eternity, All Quiet on the Western Front (1979 remake)

Dirk Bogarde (UK). Served in WW2 as an officer in a British Photo-Intelligence Unit. Took part in the liberation of the Belsen death camp in 1945 and he once had to kill a wounded allied officer to put him out of his misery. War movies included:- Ill-met by moonlight, A Bridge Too Far

Eddie Albert (USA). Served in the US Navy in the Pacific in WW2. During the battle of Tarawa in 1943, he drove a Landing Craft and was credited with rescuing 70 wounded soldiers whilst under Japanese fire. War movies included Attack!, The Longest Day

Alec Guiness (UK). Served in the Royal Navy during WW2 and was a crew-member on board a Landing Craft for the allied invasion of Sicily and also participated in ferrying supplies to Yugoslav partisans. War movies included:- Bridge on the River Kwai.

David Niven (UK). Fought in WW2 with the British army in a rifle regiment and later in the Commandoes. He was present at the evacuation at Dunkirk in 1940 and later in the war took part in missions behind enemy lines. War movies included:- The Way ahead, Spitfire, The Guns of Navarone

Michael Caine (UK). Fought as a rifle-man in a British Army Regiment during the war in Korea 1950-53. War movies included:- Zulu, A Hill in Korea, The Last Valley, Play Dirty, Battle of Britain, A Bridge Too Far

Audie Murphy (USA). Fought with the US Army in Sicily, Italy and France, surviving several wounds to become the highest-decorated US soldier in WW2. Played himself in the movie based on his wartime experiences To Hell and Back. Privately, he said he disliked the film, saying it 'missed by a mile'.

Paul Newman (USA). Joined the US Naval air-force and served in a torpedo Squadron as a gunner/radio-operator on Grumman Avengers. In May 1945, his crew was about to be sent to reinforce the Torpedo Squadron on board the carrier USS Bunker Hill during the battle for Okinawa. At the last moment, his crew was held back as his pilot developed an ear infection. Shortly afterwards, Bunker Hill was hit by a Japanese Kamikaze and hundreds of men were killed, including most of the fliers of the ship's Avenger squadron. Newman's pilot falling ill was a quirk of fate that almost certainly saved his life.

Other mentions-

Oscar winner Jack Palance did not get to experience actual combat but he trained as a bomber pilot in WW2. During a training flight over California, his B-24 accidently crashed and Palance received severe facial burns, creating his gaunt, lined features that he was famous for as an actor.
Don Adams (TV's Get Smart) - Fought in WW2 as a rifleman in the US Marines, taking part in the bloody battles on Guadalcanal in 1942-43. After one action, he was the only survivor of his platoon.
James Doohan ('Scotty' in Star Trek) - served in the Canadian artillery during WW2 and fought in Normandy in 1944.
At least three cast members of BBC TV's Dads Army all experienced war for real. Clive Dunn (Corporal Jones) was captured in North Africa in WW2 and spent 4 years in a POW camp. John Laurie (Private Frazer) fought in the First World war as did Arnold Ridley (Private Godfrey), the latter taking part in the terrible Battle of the Somme in 1916. Ridley was badly wounded in both legs and his left arm and also sustained a severe head injury when a German soldier struck him with a rifle butt. He volunteered again to later fight in WW2 but suffered shell-shock during the retreat through France in 1940 and was discharged. It was therefore very ironic that Ridley played the most gentle and timid member of Captain Mainwaring's Home-Guard platoon!
Jon Pertwee ( BBC TV's Dr Who in the 1970s)- served in the British Royal Navy in WW2 on board the Battleship HMS Hood. Was lucky enough to be transferred from the ship shortly before it was sunk in 1941.
US TV, stage and occasional movie actor Charles Durning had an extraordinary experience in WW2. As a soldier in the famous 1st US army division, he survived the bloody landing on Omaha beach on D-Day. Six months later, he was captured by the Germans during the battle of the Bulge and he was one of only three men to survive the infamous Malmedy massacre where over 100 captured Americans were machine-gunned by Waffen-SS.
US actor Raymond Burr (TV's Ironside and Perry Mason) fought in WW2 in the Marine Corps and was wounded at the battle of Okinawa in 1945.

[reconeil]

I believe it all.

Neil