I recently received an email from a Marine Corps buddy that looked like this:

FW: Fallen Marine Vet

RIP R. Lee Ermey, 1944-2010

It’s with a heavy heart that I find myself writing this about someone I’ve admired for many years. Ever since “Full Metal Jacket”, R. Lee Ermey emboded the image of a hard-ass Marine for most of us. He was a person whose personal life was as interesting as the characters he portrayed. Serving in the Marines from 1961-1972 as a staff seargent, he was later given the honorary rank of gunnery seargent because of his ongoing support of military personnel everywhere, and because of his gritty portrayal of Gunny Hartmann.

He had a decorated career before being medically retired in 1972 because of the numerous injuries he sustained in his years of service. Ermey’s service awards can be seen here: [not shown: image of military decorations]

Ermey succumbed to complications associated with pneuomonia at 3:14 AM at his home in San Diego. His nearly sixty film appearances will continue to inspire and cement his legacy for many years to come.

Give ‘em hell, Gunny!

Gunny

Normally, I take forwarded emails with a grain of salt and check online at sites like snopes.com or, in this case, urbanlegends.about.com to find out if they’re true or not. If you’ve received this email, you’ll be happy to know that according to various websites, including urbanlegends.about.com (where I got the following) it is not true and is indeed a “Hoax. Not only is retired Marine Staff Sgt. and award-winning actor R. Lee Ermey alive and well as of this writing (June 4, 2010), but there have been no recent press reports that he is ailing. Quite to the contrary, according to Associated Press he was on hand for the 2010 Memorial Day parade in Washington, DC on May 31 and even gave statements to reporters — well over a week after this bogus obituary began circulating online.”

Just goes to prove once again that you can’t (and shouldn’t) believe everything you read, especially via email or on the Internet. Before you forward that latest email or just take something someone sent you for granted as true, check it out. Do a Google search, or better, check out snopes.com.