Roy Boehm was born in Brooklyn, New York back in 1924. At the tender age of 17 he enlisted in the United States Navy. He became a diver and saw action in the Pacific theater during WWII. He first served aboard the USS Duncan a Gleaves-class destroyer. The ship entered Pearl Harbor for last minute repairs and refitting before going out to sea. His first assignment was to help recover munitions and body’s from the Pearl Harbor attack.
He was assigned with salvaging the sunken USS Arizona. He confessed the recovering of dead sailors so distressing. He served in one of the largest “all surface” sea engagement of the war the Battle of Cape Esperance at Guadalcanal. His ship the USS Duncan received fifty-eight shell hits at point blank range before going down. Shrapnel was embedded in his head and body when the ship went down. He saved one of his shipmates from burning to death by jumping into the ocean. Thankfully he survived and was involved in several other engagements which you may have heard of some of them are the Battle of the Coral Sea, Bougainville, truck, Saipan and Tinian. After the war he left the Nave briefly but reenlisted. He was involved in the Korean War.
Anyway if you would like to read more about him and his service just look him up. His service to this country is noteworthy. However, can you tell me what he will forever be written down in the history books for? Why you are in luck for he was the very first ever Navy Seal. I counted his medals and they were in excess of 20. Not bad not bad at all. He died in 2008 at 84
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