Claim: Lee Marvin, actor, and Bob Keeshan, television's "Captain Kangaroo," fought together at the battle for Iwo Jima. Status: False.
FALSE INFORMATION - SEE Snopes.com
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."
In 2003 someone thought to throw Mr. Rogers into the mix by add the following bit to the existing e-mail about Lee Marvin and Bob Keeshan:
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 sleeve sweater to cover the many tattoo's on his forearm and biceps. A master in small arms and hand-to-hand combat, able to disarm or kill in a heartbeat. He hid that away 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.
Numerous rumors about children's host Mr. Rogers having a violent or criminal past have been bandied about for years, but there is nothing to any of them. As our Mr. Rogers page explains, not only did Fred Rogers never serve in the military, there are no gaps in his career when he could conceivably have served in the military. Moreover, Fred Rogers was born in 1928 and was therefore far too old for an active combat position in the Vietnam War.
The only thing I remember about Captain Kangaroo is when he forgot to turn off his microphone and made the statement, "Well I guess that takes care of the little bastards another day", at the end of one of his shows.
But back to the guys you never expect subject, when, "To Hell and Back", first came out, I asked my father why they let a little wimpy actor like that play the part of a military hero.
On the other had , it is TRUE that Hillary Clinton served with the Viet Cong from 1966 - 1970...