Draper Kauffman

Rear Admiral Draper Laurence Kauffman (4 August 1911 – 18 August 1979) was an American underwater demolition expert, who served during the 1960s as 44th Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy. During World War II, he organized the first U.S. Navy Combat Demolition Units from which the SEALs and Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) would evolve. His wartime service also included participation in the invasions of Saipan, Tinian, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa.

Childhood and education Draper L. Kauffman, the son of Vice Admiral James L. Kauffman, was born in San Diego, California, on 4 August 1911. He attended St. Albans School in Washington, D.C., and Kent School in Kent, Connecticut and was appointed to the United States Naval Academy from Ohio in 1929.

Kauffman graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1933, but poor eyesight denied him a commission in the regular navy.

World War II Volunteer service in Europe, 1940–1941 Employed by the United States Lines Steamship Company, his travels in Europe alerted him to the danger of Nazi Germany. In February 1940, he joined the American Volunteer Ambulance Corps in France. On 16 June, he was captured by the Germans and held prisoner for two months.

Released in August, he made his way to England and was commissioned a sub-lieutenant in the British Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve, later rising to lieutenant. At the height of the Blitz on London (1940–1941), he served as a bomb and mine disposal officer, and achieved a high degree of proficiency in bomb disposal techniques. He died on 18 August 1979, Budapest, Hungary, while on a tour with members of a Naval Academy alumni group.

Military awards and decorations Military decorations and awards include the following according to the medals and ribbonrack at the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum in Florida.

Legacy The , launched in 1987, was named in honor of Draper Kauffman and his father, Vice Admiral James L. Kauffman (1887–1963). His roles as the founder of U.S. Naval Bomb Disposal and as the creator of hell week for the UDT/SEALs were honored with the creation of the Kauffman EOD Training Complex at Eglin AFB, Florida, and the Draper L. Kauffman Naval Special Warfare Operations Facility in Norfolk, Virginia.

Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman, founder of SumOfUs, is a granddaughter.