A Well-known Myth
by There are lots of great stories out there. Some of them are not true.
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Several years ago I heard a great story. It was about the U.S. battle on Iwo Jima. The guy said he and his unit were pinned down on the beach. The Japanese were laying heavy fire on them. There were bullets whizzing everywhere. He said the sergeant of his unit stood in front of them, in mist of all those all bullets, and told them they had to get up and run into the trees at the edge of the sand. He made them get up and run, despite the heavy fire. Most of them made it to the trees. The man who told the story and the sergeant were both awarded the Navy Cross. The guy who told that story was Lee Marvin, the actor. He said that sergeant was the bravest man he ever knew. The sergeant’s name was Bob Keeshan. He is better known as Captain Kangaroo.
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That is really a great story and it has appeared in a lot of places, both in print and on the radio. There is one small problem with it; it is not true. Lee Marvin and Bob Keeshan did both serve in the Marines. Both were in the Pacific. They never served together and neither was at Iwo Jima. Neither of them received the Navy Cross, although Lee marvin did get a Purple Heart, for injuries in Saipan.
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Post CommentWizard Brown
On February 3, 2011 at 5:36 pm
US propaganda at its best!
lillyrose
On February 12, 2011 at 3:05 pm
I thought Lee Martin was a 1950s singer… maybe that was Dean Martin. Anyway these myths have a way of running like Chinese whispers, they were both in the army and some how their names got united and so the tale began.