Roy Boehm

Roy H. Boehm (9 April 1924 – 30 December 2008) 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.

Career 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 , 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 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. Boehm personally selected the men for this unit, the first two being Rudy Boesch as master-at-arms and J. H. "Hoot" Andrews as storekeeper.

While forming the SEALs, Boehm was subjected to a Board of Inquiry five times (but never court-martialed) for offenses such as modifying issued gear (high-altitude parachutes and diving rigs) to make them suitable for the SEALs' purposes and for purchasing weapons such as AR-15s on the open market as opposed to going through official channels or the Navy's Bureau of Weapons. The investigations were dropped after he received authorization from President John F. Kennedy following a Kennedy visit to the Little Creek training area to see the SEALs in action.

Boehm's idea for a Naval commando unit went back to his time in the Pacific in World War II. He envisioned highly motivated and highly trained warriors like the Frogmen and UDTs operating beyond the beachhead.

Service in Vietnam On 4 November 1963, Boehm arrived in South Vietnam to act as an advisor for Army of the Republic of Vietnam Underwater Demolition Teams. Rather than train for the conventional UDT mission Boehm employed his frogmen in the unconventional warfare role conducting recon missions, ambushes and raids against the Viet Cong (VC). He would also aid in the investigation of the successful VC underwater attack on USNS Card, suggesting that the explosives and expertise used may have been provided by a group of deserters from his own unit. Boehm was eventually evacuated on medical grounds in late 1964 with viral hepatitis and a deformed kneecap. As an advisor in Vietnam, Boehm befriended and grew to respect one of his enemies, the commander of the VC 514th Battalion named Minh.

Death Boehm died 30 December 2008, at his home in Punta Gorda, Florida. He was 84. According to his wife Susan, he wanted his death to go unpublicized.

On 19 August 2009, President Barack Obama signed Public Law No. 111-59 (H.R. 2470), sponsored by Congressman Tom Rooney, which officially named the Murdock Post Office in Port Charlotte, Florida, located in Charlotte County in which Boehm lived, after him.

Military awards

Bronze Star with Valor Device

Navy Good Conduct Medal with three bronze service stars

Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal with one Silver Star, one Bronze Star and Arrowhead device

National Defense Service Medal with one Bronze Star Korean Service Medal with two Bronze Stars