Little Known War Heroes

A friend of my wife who is in the Honor Guard passed this on to her. It is a testament to the heroes in our midst who went about their lives without wanting any recognition for what they had done in an earlier life. .

For those who were not aware of what they did in the war.

You Would Never Have Guessed?
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.’

On another note, there was this wimpy little man (who 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 happen to you if you don’t, but you will be telling others what a HERO is made of.

VERY good story-I did not know any of this-----THANKS!!!!!!!!

Just as well, it's mostly BS.

Marvin and Keeshan never served together, and Mr. Rogers never served at all.

This is a old story someone made up,like you said, I just cant understand why someone would make this kind of stuff up. there are a lot of war storys about heros that are true they could put out

I am really sorry now that I posted this. I should have checked the information before I did. It was something my wife passed onto me from a veteran she works with. After Fawteen comment, I looked up the information and Bob Keeshan was in the service but never served overseas. Mr. Rogers was not in the military. The true part was about Lee Marvin. Sorry for the mistake. It was such a good story I got suckered into believing it. A good lesson in not trusting what other people tell you without checking on it yourself.

Ah yes the original poster does not google his facts . Many hits that Mr. Rogers did not serve. I beleive he got heavily inked when he rode with the Hells Angel when he was a biker. I don't know when the use of the title Navy Seal came out but it was probably way after WW2. There was a story about Yogi Berra . Yogi's coach said to him one day " Yogi I'm sorry I never liked you ,I just don't like guys that never served in the military." Yogi replied " I was on Omaha Beach" Now that one is not folklore. I do find it fascinating how these misconceptions do spread. Hey did I tell you I just found Elvis's Sportster . I took the seat off and there it was EP4 serial number just for Elvis. I think Harley is going to offer me Two Million for it for the museum.

Look up Desmond Doss conscienttous objector and Medal of Honor Winner. Then post about him . That will easily make up for the first post.Saved dozens of men under fire the whole time.

In WWII, 'Navy Seals' were known as UDT- Underwater Demolition Team. That was their prime function, not land combat. Name was changed many years later to reflect the change in their mission.......IIRC was in the early 80s?

I know some don't have much faith in Snopes, but for those of you who do...

http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/mrrogers.asp

http://www.snopes.com/military/celebrities/leemarvin.asp
marvin & captain

Seems those who did the most talked about it the least.

My wife's oldest brother, Morris, now deceased, was one of 7 men out of an entire platoon who made it back down off of Porkchop Hill in Korea, and he was shot up pretty bad. The rest of us didn't even know he'd been awarded the Silver Star and other medals until the funeral home displayed them on his funeral.

His wife is also deceased, and they had one son who was killed in an auto accident. Being the youngest of seven and the only girl, my wife's other brothers recently gave her Morris's casket flag from the funeral. My wife is now working with our local VA rep to try to find out what all Morris actually did in the Army.

I went to a friends funeral and found out he was a real life hero in Nam, saved several lives, He never had said anything about it, Just before a cousin passed I found he jumped in Normandy in WW2, never knew about that either.

here's another unknown world war 2 hero; my dad. drafted at age 21, married with a baby, sent to n. africa, italy, france and germany and fighting nearly all the way. wounded 4 times in italy, wounded 2 more times and captured near the rhine river. liberated by the british from a pow camp near rottenmuster, germany. returned home for discharge. one of countless numbers of war heros that served or serving in a war zone.

Desmond Thomas Doss (February 7, 1919 – March 23, 2006) was the first conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor and one of only three so honored (the others are Thomas W. Bennett and Joseph G. LaPointe, Jr.). He was a Corporal (Private First Class at the time of his Medal of Honor heroics) in the U.S. Army assigned to the Medical Detachment, 307th Infantry, 77th Infantry Division. He died the same day as another Medal of Honor recipient, David Bleak.

Drafted in April 1942,[1] Desmond Doss refused to kill, or carry a weapon into combat, because of his personal beliefs as a Seventh-day Adventist. He consequently became a medic, and by serving in the Pacific theatre of World War II helped his country by saving the lives of his comrades, while also adhering to his religious convictions. Shortly before leaving the Army, Desmond was diagnosed with tuberculosis.[2] He left the Army in 1946.[3]

His Medal of Honor was given in recognition of the risks he took to save the lives of so many comrades.

He is the subject of The Conscientious Objector, an award-winning documentary,[4] and an upcoming feature film by the same name. The project has been developed and financed by Walden Media, and will be produced by Bill Mechanic, David Permut, Steve Longi, Gregory Crosby, and Terry Benedict.

Mr. Rogers....? Are you kidding?

Deston T Doss lived 12 miles north of me in the comunity of Durhan Lookout Mountian Georgia. Rodney

My uncle was critcally injured by a grenade in Korea. It was at his funeral that I heard about some of the things he had gone through. I remember thinking that here was probably the greatest man I would have had the chance to know and I never knew it.
SDE

If you do a google search for something like "celebrities that served" you'll find several links to sites with good info. Lee Marvin, James Stewart, Glenn Ford, David Niven, Sterling Hayden, Clark Gable, Ted Williams...guys like that actually served in wartime. Lots of others served too.

I had an uncle that was a Corpsman attached to a Marine unit in WW1 that won a Distinguished Service Cross. I just remember him as a scary old man. I guess he had a right to be.

Action: October 4, 1918
Citation:
The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to George W. Bailey, Pharmacist’s Mate Third Class, U.S. Navy, for extraordinary heroism in action, near St. Etienne, France, October 4, 1918. Pharmacist's Mate Bailey voluntarily went out in front of the most advanced positions of our troops in order to render first aid to a number of wounded soldiers. He continued the work until all the wounded had been given first aid and evacuated.
General Orders No. 35, W.D., 1919
Home Town: Ogdensburg, NY

Lee Marvin was not at Iwo Jimma nor did he get the Navy Cross. He got the Purple Heart at Siapan. Mr. Rodgers was never a Navy SEAL. He was in the Marine Reserves, before Vietnam, and there is no reason to belief he ever left the US during those years.

And while you have me going, Ben Keeshan was a Marine, but Japan surrendered before he left the US. I doubt that he was a Sargent, he most certianly was not a Captain. Finally, the Medal of Honor is not a Navy award.

The Medal of Honor can go to a member of any branch, the Navy and Marines are not excluded. And it's Bob Keeshan, not Ben.

Oh, and Mr. Rodgers NEVER served in any branch of the US military. He was born in 1928 and every period of his life has been accounted for and there are no gaps that would have allowed him to have been in the service, much less as a Marine Reservist. In fact he was working Canada during the early periods of the Vietnam era.

You are correct about Mr Rodgers, even I fall for nonsence on the internet sometimes. The MOH can go to anyone in the military, true. However the report says that it is The highest Navy medal. That is not true. I have never seen Marvins grave, and the report says that it only has his name, rank and service. However it would be extreamly unlikely that it would not indicate WW2 and his Purple Heart. I am also not sure why anyone would be offended by a PFC being buried next to a Officer, reguardless of rank. They serve/die on the battlefields next to each other. Not sure about Arlington but at the National Cemitaries ran by the VA they bury us in the order we vets come in, not by rank.

Well, yes and no. You see, there are 3 different types of MOH- one for the Army, one for the Air Force, and one for the Navy, Marines and Coast Guard. So in a sense, the Navy MOH is the highest NAVAL medal.

http://www.cmohs.org/medal-types.php

This past summer, my wife and I weere lucky enough to take my Mom to Europe and visit the areas her grandfather served in WWI around Verdun, France. He served in the same company as Sgt. Alvin York. If my memory serves there were only 7 men from their entire company who came home. With Mom's research we were able to to find out many of the towns and villages he was in, most of which were so small they weren't even on a regional map. We attempted to travel the Sgt. York trail which followed the events of the day which Sgt. York singlehandedly captured 130 or so German prisoners, but the had to back out when it got too rough for the rented Volvo. We visited 5 countries on the trip but the highlight was the areas where Grandpa had served. It was a once in a lifetime experience, but very humbling to see. It made me that much more thankful for all those little known heroes, and the well known ones, who have served this country in so many ways. I am not a veteran myself, but know that many on this forum are, and all of you are heroes in one way or another. From my family, and freedom loving Americans everywhere, THANK YOU!!

The MOH is presented by the President in the name of Congress. It is not presented by the Navy. So I can go along with that version being the highest metal someone in the Marines, Navy or Coastguard could earn, but not that it is a Navy medal. The Navy has no ability to present the award on its own.

No, but the Navy designed the medal, the Navy submits it's delegates for consideration, Naval personnel are the only service members authorized to wear the Navy MOH. It's a Navy MOH, the highest award US Naval personnel can be awarded.