The Mr. Rogers story is an urban legend, not true:
Dear Guide:
I've been listening to the radio today, and a couple of speakers made mention of the 'fact' that Mr. Rogers was a Marine sharpshooter; some even said he's supposed to have had something like 150 'kills' in the Vietnam War. I don't think that can be true, because I think he was on TV during the war in any case, he would have likely been too old to serve in Vietnam.
I was wondering if you'd heard the story, whether it or any part of it was true.
Dear Reader:
Unless all the biographical information available about him is wrong, Fred McFeely Rogers never served in the military in any capacity, let alone as a Marine sniper (or Navy Seal, as another version of this apocryphal story claims). Some cynical folks may be loathe to believe that the gentle, soft-spoken host of "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood" was exactly what he seemed, but he was.
Rumors to the contrary have circulated since the early 1990s. It's unknown where, precisely, they began, but starting in 1994 stories about Fred Rogers' supposed military exploits became a hot topic on the Internet, escalating as the decade wore on. For example:
1994: "A note on Mr. Rogers. He would be a tough competitor. He has 42 confirmed sniper kills (in Korea?)."
1998: "So this fellow at work (retired Army vet) says that Mr. Rogers of childrens' TV fame served three tours of duty in 'Nam as a sniper and has been credited with kills in excess of 1500 meters."
1999: "Interesting side note about Fred Rogers. He was the number three Marine sniper in the Vietnam war. And one of the reasons he always wears long sleeve clothing is because his arms are covered in tattoos."
Predictably, Rogers' death in February 2003 sparked a resurgence in the rumors, but with a new twist: now, he was an ex-Navy Seal instead of a Marine sniper. This variant circulated far and wide when it hitched a ride with an newer email hoax making similar claims about Bob "Captain Kangaroo" Keeshan. The relevant portion of the text went as follows:
2003: "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 tattoos 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."
Fred Rogers won our hearts, true enough; but the rest is hogwash. After graduating from Rollins College in Florida with a degree in music in 1951, he immediately embarked on a broadcasting career a career that went uninterrupted for nearly 50 years, even while he studied for a Bachelor of Divinity degree, eventually becoming an ordained minister in 1962. Far from hiding a secret past as a trained killer, Fred Rogers was an exemplary individual who devoted his entire adult life to educating and bettering the lives of children, and as such he deserves to be remembered.
Last updated: 05/05/03
There are several other sources that say the same thing.
