The Capt. Kangaroo Hoax--All those emails people forward....

 The following was sent to me by a friend who lives down in South Carolina...he often sends me this hoax material and I have to send him the link to Snopes to show him its fraudulence ( a lot of the material is extreme right wing propaganda).

 

Another friend of mine who lives in Illinois used to forward similar nonsense to me until I and a bunch of us his other friends complained to him a lot about one really offensive one and he vowed he was never going to just forward anything again without checking Snopes.

 

I got one very weird thing from him not so long ago and I checked Snopes and they said it was "partly true." What he had sent to me was a version that was mostly true...

 

Never underestimated the credulity of the American public, especially when it involves some political rumor that they are predisposed to believe..

 

Well, what do you expect in a country where people like Sarah Palin say publicly that (since she believes the Biblical version of the time of history) human beings and dinosaurs existed at the same time. And of course she does not believe in evolution. ( Creationism is taught in many public schools, funded by taxpayer money, in states like Tennessee).

 

 

 

Subject: Interesting Men

 

 

ONE NATION UNDER GOD

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 onehigher 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 on PBS,(who passed away) ,

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 aU.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.