is gomer retarded?

no....it appears you are the retarted one!!!

No, he is not retarded, he's just an idiot who doesn't know any better. See, there's difference between retarded and just plain dumb.

I'm fourteen and don't know wtf I am! ~ ME

Having a son with autism, I have felt for a long time that Gomer Pyle was a high-functioning autistic. I won't try to justify this except to say that he reminds me in many ways of my son.

BTW in those days high-functioning autistics weren't typically diagnosed as such. Usually they were just thought "odd". Possibly the character was inspired by such a person one of the writers had encountered earlier in their life.

He was naive, uneducated, from a rural small-town, and extremely slow to catch on to some things. He was good-natured and caring as well. He did too many intelligent things, especially in later episodes, to be retarded, though. He was just a big, dorky, innocent goof.

You guys that don't understand Gomer need to watch some more early episodes. He is innocent, doesn't have a contentious bone in his body and has a very big heart. He seemingly doesn't do well in the Marines, but his attributes always help him solve the problem in the end and make Carter look like an idiot. He only sees the best in everybody. He is wise to nature because of his small town/country upbringing. He's completely sincere about everything he says and does, which is why the dragon lady didn't throw him out on his ____. And the fact that he actually LIKES Carter for teaching him to be a good marine keeps Carter completely frustrated with him.

The short answer is yes.
Naaahhhh. Just kidding.
But there would be NO WAY a real "Gomer Pyle" would be a Marine for very long.
He would be drummed out very quickly or be given a job with little responsibility and no chance of combat. I always thought, why don't they put Gomer in the motor pool because he knows how to fix cars? Why? Because that would make a dull show even duller.
Remember "Full Metal Jacket"? What does the Sgt. call Private Leonard Lawrence?
"Gomer Pyle."
That's another case where the soldier would have been drummed out of the Marines if he somehow got past the induction people. The way they portray Private Lawrence in the film IS as someone who is borderline--not smart enough or psychologically fit to be in the service.

Nopers. Not retarded, just too undereducated and "countryfied" (i.e., naive). Too willing to trust and way too mouthy. He idolizes Carter because of the "I'll take care of you" speech the sgt ironically delivers during boot camp.

Not retarded, Gomer was a hick from the South, (North Carolina) who wasn't the brightest bulb on the tree. I met several 'Gomer Pyle' types when I served two years in the army back in the '60s. Some had never been 'out of the backwoods' and acted just like Gomer.