Roy Boehm
| Roy Boehm | |
|---|---|
Roy Boehm as a Lieutenant in Vietnam
|
|
| Born | April 9, 1924 Brooklyn, New York |
| Died | December 30, 2008 (aged 84) Punta Gorda, Florida |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Navy
|
| Years of service | 1941–1971 |
| Rank |
 Lieutenant Commander
|
| Unit |
 SEALs
|
| Commands held | UDT-21, Seal Team 2 |
| Battles/wars |
World War II Korean War Vietnam War |
| Awards |
Bronze Star with Valor Device Purple Heart Air Medal |
Roy H. Boehm (April 9, 1924 – December 30, 2008) was born in Brooklyn, New York and was a veteran of 30 years of military service in the United States Navy, serving in three wars and various clandestine operations. Boehm was a mustang officer who rose up from the enlisted ranks and was commissioned to develop and lead what would become the US Navy SEALs as the first Officer In Charge of SEAL Team Two.
At the age of 17, Boehm enlisted in the United States Navy in April 1941 to become a diver and saw action in the Pacific theater of operation during World War II from February 1942 until the conclusion of the war in 1945.
His first billet as a hardhat diver was aboard the USS Duncan (DD-485), a newly commissioned Gleaves-class destroyer. The ship entered the wreckage of Pearl Harbor for last minute repairs and refitting before proceeding to the ocean war in the South Pacific. Qualified divers on all vessels entering Pearl Harbor were temporarily assigned to the base to assist in salvage of sunken ships. Boehm was tasked with salvaging the sunken USS Arizona and diving to recover corpses and ammunition. Boehm confessed that he found the job of recovering dead sailors so distressing that he actually vomited inside his diver's helmet the first time he was required to do it.
Boehm was a veteran of one of the largest "all surface" sea engagements of World War II, the Battle of Cape Esperance at Guadalcanal. During the battle, Boehm was serving on the destroyer USS Duncan when the ship received fifty-eight 6" and 8" shell hits at point blank range before going down. With shrapnel embedded in his head and body, he saved one of his shipmates from burning to death by plunging into the ocean. Subsequently, he had to literally fight off sharks, who killed the sailor he tried to save.
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