Captain Kangaroo turns 75!

[Packo]

We all remember Captain Kangaroo, Bob Keesham, and I'm sure we all enjoyed watching him as a kid. Let's wish him a Happy Birthday! Why, I'm sure your all wondering.....well I'll tell you,


Lee Marvin was one of my favorite actors of all time but did you know he's buried in Arlington Cemetary? There have been some complaints that a lowly Marine Pvt made it in and he's just there because he was an actor. Well, an actor, yes....a great actor, YES, but how many of you know he recieved the NAVY CROSS at Iwo. On the Johnny Carson show Johnny was interviewing Lee and mentioned his NAVY CROSS. (next highest to the MOH) Lee poo-pooed and and said "I got that for securing a position on Mt Suribaci and getting shot in the butt. The bravest man I ever saw was my Sgt. who also got the Cross that day. He got it for standing up on that bloody beach and directing his troops in. He then led a rescue party up that Mountain to get me off. He was the bravest man I've ever seen and my Cross is nothing compared to his. We have remained the closest of friends since."

That brave Sgt's name? Sgt. Bob Keesham.........CAPT. KANGAROO!

Let's all wish the Capt. a HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND A BIG OOOHRAA!

SEMPER FI BOB!

Airborne!

Packo


ATTENTION: I JUST FOUND OUT THAT THIS IS AN URBAN MYTH!
MARVIN WAS IN THE PACIFIC AS A GRUNT BUT WAS NEVER AT IWO. HE WAS A PURPLE HEART RECIPIENT. KEESHAN WAS A MARINE BUT NEVER SAW COMBAT. THE JOHNNY CARSON SHOW WAS A COMPLETE FABRICATION. SORRY GUYS, BUT AT LEAST BOTH SERVED HONORABLY. GO TO:
www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/keeshan.htm

PACKO

[1CAVCCO15MED]

Yes but.....

Bob Keeshan was not only Captain Kangaroo he was also Clarabel the Clown on the Howdy Doody Show.

[phuloi]

Really??I didn`t know that."It`s Howdy Doody time....."

[frisco-kid]

I heard Mr. Greenjeans was their CO .

[Keith_Hixson]

He could have been a wannabee and ran with it. But, he honest and forthright about it. Intergrity is the mark of a real man.

Keith

[Hoyin]

Heck even *I* remember Cpt Kangaroo!! I loved him. I got a record that sang my name and happy birthday from writing him when I was a really little kid.
Happy Birthday

[Advisor]

Sorry to break it, but the story about Lee Marvin & Cpt. Kangaroo is pure moonbeam..another urban legend.

Source: snopes.com

Claim: Lee Marvin, actor, and Bob Keeshan, television's "Captain Kangaroo," fought together at the battle for Iwo Jima.
Status: False.

Example: [Collected on the Internet, 2002]


Dialog from a Tonight Show... 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."

And you know how Lee was..."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 Sgt. and I have been life long friends...When they brought me off Suribachi we passed the Sgt. and he lit a smoke and passed it to me lying on my belly on the litter..."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...Sgt. Keeshan was the bravest man I ever Knew - Bob Keeshan....

You and the world know him as Captain Kangaroo."




Variations: A later version tacked on a prologue about Lee Marvin's burial in Arlington National Cemetery:


Many people have always been a bit offended that Lee Marvin is buried in a grove of 3 and 4 star generals at Arlington. His marker gives his name, rank (PVT) and service (USMC). Nothing else.
I thought to myself, damn 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. Including award of the Navy Cross. There is only one higher award...the Medal Of Honor.




Origins: We can't say for sure whether actor Lee Marvin ever related something like the story described above 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."

Last updated: 1 August 2002

[Sgt.J]

It was still a good story. As time goes on, we all become heroes. I personally know an Army cook who can tell you all about the NVA barber battalion - one haircut, one kill LOL. Eventually, he'll be a war hero as well.

[THECOLONEL]

HUGH " LUMPY " BRANNUM

BORN - 5 JANUARY 1910
DIED - 19 APRIL 1987

Lumpy was originally from Illinois.

His family later moved to Redlands, California, where he attended Redlands University.

Lumpy proceeded to play string bass in the Marine Band then went on to become a member of Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians.

Lumpy created and narrated the "Little Orley" stories for Fred Waring's radio program of the late 1940s and was then a scriptwriter for the Waring TV program in the 1950s.

While the "Little Orley" stories were a weekly feature of the radio program, they were offered less and less often once their move to television took place.

The stories were later released on Decca Records.

In 1955, Lumpy joined the Captain Kangaroo television program as Mr. Green Jeans.

He remained with the program through its entire run, retiring to his home in the Pocono Mountains in 1984.

To learn more, go to www.LittleOrley.com

[masher51]

I respect Lee Marvin & Bob Keeshan because at least they
had the ka-honies to serve unlike another dude I remember who was a boxer who changed his name Ali?
He would probably have spent his time touring with the USO service clubs,but , wimped out of the service.Remember Riddick Bowe? Another tuff guy who couldn't make it through Marine boot camp.
Just an opinion,,they wouldn't make a decent pimple on the
worst Marine's a$%!!
Semper Fi to all Marine Brothers
masher