“Urban legends sometimes distort the positive to create a sense of intrigue,” says Trevor J. Blank, assistant professor of communication at the State University of New York at Potsdam. “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” aired for 31 seasons before coming to an end in 2001. Those medical records have long been destroyed, so we don’t know why he didn’t pass. We always want to be respectful of the military as we are proud to be Americans and to live in the US. He started at NBC in New York City, and then moved back to Pennsylvania, then to Canada, and finally to Pittsburgh with the rights to his very own children’s show that would become the famed Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Post-military career (2004–2007) After retiring from the Army, West and his family moved to Florida.He taught U.S. history and coached track and field at Deerfield Beach High School for a year. This is a man who really did dedicate his life to educating and helping children. First off, they stated that since Mr. Rogers was born in 1928, he would have been too old to enlist in the Navy during the period of the U.S. involvement in the conflicts with Vietnam. However, this same military timeline and its correlation to Mr. Rogers’ life also proves that he wasn’t a military sniper either, as the U.S. did not send ground troops into Vietnam until 1995, making Rogers too old to enlist as a sniper. “I don’t want to eat anything that has a mother,” he often said. “As you can see so clearly the abused grow up to be the abusers — sometimes on a worldwide scale.”. Mr. Rogers was a Sniper? Bettmann/Getty ImagesFred Rogers entertaining children. According to urban legend, before Mr. Rogers was a TV host, he was as a sniper (or perhaps a Navy SEAL) during the Vietnam War, with a large number of confirmed kills. It is believed that Mr. Rogers’ squeaky clean public appearance and morals allowed for these scandalous rumors to gain footing and flourish in the first place. The military itself has even rejected myth. This attempts to give a reason for the lack of kids allowed on set, and adult characters with suggestive names, such as Mr. McFeely. A pinnacle of self-discipline, Mr. Rogers never smoked or drank. When a public figure is as squeaky-clean as Mr. Rogers, it leaves a void in which scandalous rumors can flourish. 7) Unlike on most children’s shows, Mr. Rogers played himself not just in name, but also in personality and mannerisms, changing nothing about how he acted off camera to how he acted on camera. But on Oct. 12, 1950, in his final year of college, Rogers reported to the Armed Forces for his physical and his status changed to “4F,” meaning he wasn’t qualified for military service. These tumors swirled even before internet memes or conspiracy-theory YouTube channels. Fred Rogers was born in 1928 in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. But Mr. Rogers was a U.S. Navy Seal, combat-proven in Vietnam with over twenty-five confirmed kills to his name. No one who knew Rogers in real life has confirmed any military involvement on his part, and Rogers was a pacifist through and through. For many years, he was eligible for military service, since he was classified as a “1A.”. Fred Rogers was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush on July 9, 2002, for his service to the nation and dedication to the education of children. In addition to urban legends regarding military involvement, Mr. Rogers has also been accused of being a convicted child molester, flashing satanic devil horns during his children’s television program, and flipping off his audience; however, all of these rumors are easily explained and continue to be nothing more than urban legends. Mr. Rogers never served in the military and was a pacifist. Fred McFeely Rogers (March 20, 1928 – February 27, 2003), also known as Mister Rogers, was an American television host, producer, and Presbyterian minister. Mr. Rogers also opposed the Vietnam War and often said on his television show, “Isn’t peace wonderful?” through his many puppet storylines based around war resistance. But is it? Indeed, according to urban legend, Mr. Rogers — the man who wore colorful sweaters hand-knitted by his mother for more than 900 episodes of his children’s show on public-access television — was a Navy SEAL with many confirmed kills. While these urban legends continue to be assumed as true, it only takes a simple lineup of events and analysis of Mr. Rogers’ personal beliefs and morals to see that these are just that — legends. After learning about the truth behind the rumors of Mr. Rogers’ supposed career as a Navy SEAL and Vietnam sniper, read more about the real life and career of Mr. Rogers. In March, 2008, somebody combined the stories of Captain Kangaroo, Lee Marvin, and another about the popular children’s television personality Mr. Rogers into a single email—saying that all three of them were war heroes. Mr. Rogers never served in the military,” the Navy SEALs wrote. “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” is slated to release in November 2019. Rogers indeed registered for the draftin Greensburg, Pe… In addition, military involvement for Fred Rogers doesn’t have a place where it fits into the timeline of his life. From the above mentioned reasons, it is clear that Mr. Rogers could never have served in the military. THE TRUSTED RESOURCE FOR MILITARY FAMILIES. Fred Rogers was such a good person that we’ve invented our own tales about him. Mr. Rogers never served in the military. Mr. Rogers is another of those you would least suspect of being anything but what he portrayed. And he couldn’t have been a sniper in Vietnam, since U.S. didn’t send ground troops there until 1965, when he was too old to enlist. Fotos International/Getty Images Rumors have long persisted that Fred Rogers, the host of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, hid a secret military career. YouTubePictured with young girl in the 1960s. There were whispers on buses between children and in lines at supermarkets. Contrary to urban legend and rumors spread around the internet, Mr. Rogers was never a Navy SEAL nor a sniper in the military, nor was the reason he wore sweaters because he had tattoos all over his arms and body, one for each person he killed. Rogers' fictional tattoos almost always make an appearance. In his children’s television show Mister Rogers Neighborhood, Mr. Rogers was always pictured wearing sweaters that fully covered his arms, but he was not using his choice of apparel to conceal tattoos of any kind. Summary of eRumor: Children’s television personality Fed Rogers was a Navy Seal and a sniper in Vietnam with 25 confirmed kills to his credit. Fred Rogers never served in the military, … A: The rumors that the late Fred Rogers served as a Navy SEAL or a U.S. Marine sniper are urban legends. According to urban legend, before Mr. Rogers was a TV host, he was as a sniper (or perhaps a Navy SEAL) during the Vietnam War, with a large number of confirmed kills. Rogers also called the space between the viewer and the television set "holy ground" and said the central message of "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood" -- that you are loved just the way you are -- … Fred Rogers, American television host, producer, and writer best known for Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood (1968–2001), an educational children’s show that aired on public television. As with his older brother, Robert, he was named in honor of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, who was his first cousin, four times removed. Furthermore, you cannot be a Navy SEAL if you fail the color blindness test, and Rogers was red-green colorblind. Mr Rogers (Fred McFeeley Rogers) never served in the military. He wore a long-sleeve sweater to cover the many tattoos on his forearm and biceps. And then there was the time he pounded those medals into Mr. Green Jeans’ chest, and made Magic Drawing Board police the Treasure House until it was so clean you could eat off the floor. As far as war is concerned, Mr. Rogers likened it to a form of child abuse. However, at the end of the day, Fred Rogers was nothing more than a Puritan-esque character who followed his passion for education and creating a peaceful society where children are taught to be good-hearted, morally conscious people. It’s the knowing that we can be trusted, that we never have to fear the truth, that the bedrock of our lives, from which we make our choices, is very good stuff,” he told Dartmouth graduates in 2002. 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