07 March 2012

Heroes

Rico says his mother sends this, too:
Captain Kangaroo passed away on 23 January 2004 at the age of 76, which is odd, because he always looked to be 76. His death reminded me of the following story:
Some people have been offended that the actor, Lee Marvin, is buried in a grave alongside three- and four-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, the 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, though 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 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.
From The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson; his guest was Lee Marvin:
Johnny: "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 guy's 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, 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, that sergeant was the bravest man I ever knew. The sergeant's name was Bob Keeshan. You and the world know him as Captain Kangaroo."
Rico says this is, alas, apocryphal. From Wikipedia: "In 1945, during World War Two, Keeshan enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve, but was still in the United States when Japan surrendered."

Rico says that he happened to stay up late one night, back in the 1960s, when he was working for his late uncle in Florida, and watched the Johnny Carson Show. The big guest that night was, once again, Lee Marvin. Carson asked him about his war experiences, and Marvin, drunk off his ass, said: "Johnny, who the fuck cares?" (This was before time-delay, so the word went out on the air.) When they came back from a hurried commercial, Marvin was gone...
On another note, there was this wimpy little man, who recently passed away. He was on PBS, gentle and quiet. Mister Rogers is another of those you would least suspect of being anything but what he now portrays to our youth.
But Mister Rogers was a Navy SEAL, combat-proven in Vietnam, with over twenty-five confirmed kills to his name.
He wore a long-sleeved sweater on television, 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, Mister 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 and won our hearts with his quiet wit and charm.
Rico says that, alas, this story is apocryphal. From Wikipedia: "A false rumor claims that Fred Rogers was once a Marine sniper in the Vietnam War. The rumor appeared on the Internet in 1994 and re-emerged several times over the next ten years, most notably after his death in 2003. However, Rogers never served in any branch of the military. Beginning in 1963, Rogers developed the Mister Rogers program for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. In 1966, he moved back to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he produced Mister Rogers' Neighborhood through the height of U.S. military involvement in Vietnam. Related claims that Rogers had a number of military tattoos are also entirely false.
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 Mister Rogers.

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