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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Short description|US Navy SEAL (1924–2008)}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= Roy Boehm
|image= Roy Boehm.jpg
|caption= Roy Boehm as a Lieutenant in Vietnam
|birth_date= April 9, 1924
|death_date= {{death date and age|2008|12|30|1924|04|09}}
|birth_place= [[Brooklyn, New York]], U.S.
|death_place= [[Punta Gorda, Florida]], U.S.
|placeofburial=
|nickname=
|allegiance=
|serviceyears=1941–1971
|rank= [[File:US-O4 insignia.svg|25px]] [[Lieutenant Commander]]
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|branch= [[File:United States Department of the Navy Seal.svg|25px]] [[United States Navy]]
|commands= UDT-21, Seal Team 2
|battles=[[World War II
* [[New Guinea campaign]]
** [[Battle of the Coral Sea]]
* [[Solomon Islands campaign]]
** [[Guadalcanal campaign]]
*** [[Battle of Cape Esperance]]
*** [[Battle of the Green Islands]]
* [[Bougainville campaign]]
* [[Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign]]
** [[Operation Hailstone]]
* [[Mariana and Palau Islands campaign]]
** [[Battle of Saipan]]
** [[Battle of Tinian]]
** [[Second Battle of Guam]]
* [[Japan campaign]]
** [[Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign]]
*** [[Battle of Okinawa]]
[[Korean War]]
* [[Battle of Inchon]]
* [[Battle of Chosin Reservoir]]
[[Vietnam War]]
|awards= [[Bronze Star Medal|Bronze Star]] with [[Valor Device]]<br />[[Purple Heart]]<br />[[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 (military officer)|mustang officer]] who rose up from the enlisted ranks and was commissioned to develop and lead what would become the [[Navy SEALs|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 War|Pacific theater]] of operation during [[World War II]] from February 1942 until the conclusion of the war in 1945.
His first billet as a [[professional diver|hardhat diver]] was aboard the {{USS|Duncan|DD-485}}, a newly commissioned [[Gleaves class destroyer|''Gleaves''-class]] [[destroyer]].<ref name="first">{{cite book |last=Boehm |first=Roy |title=First Seal |author2=Sasser |year=1997 |publisher=Pocket |location=New York |isbn=978-0-671-53626-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/lovesong00wild/page/32 32–40] |url=https://archive.org/details/lovesong00wild/page/32 }}</ref> 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.<ref name="first"/> Boehm was tasked with salvaging the sunken {{USS|Arizona|BB-39|6}} and diving to recover corpses and ammunition.<ref name="first"/><ref name="letters">{{cite book |last=Carrol |first=Andrew |title=War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars |year=2001 |publisher=Scribner |location=New York |isbn=978-0-7434-1006-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/warletters00andr/page/394 394] |url=https://archive.org/details/warletters00andr/page/394 }}</ref> 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.<ref>''First Seal''
Boehm was a veteran of one of the largest "all surface" sea engagements of World War II, the [[Battle of Cape Esperance]] at [[Guadalcanal]].<ref name="letters"/><ref name="second">{{cite book |last=Boehm |first=Roy |author2=Sasser |title=First Seal |year=1997 |publisher=Pocket |location=New York |isbn=978-0-671-53626-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/lovesong00wild/page/41 41–73] |url=https://archive.org/details/lovesong00wild/page/41 }}</ref> During the battle, Boehm was serving on the destroyer USS ''Duncan'' when the ship received fifty-eight
Boehm participated in the following campaigns and engagements: [[Battle of the Coral Sea]], [[Bougainville Campaign|Bougainville]], [[Operation Hailstone|Truk]], [[Battle of the Green Islands|Green Island]], Emerau, [[Battle of Saipan|Saipan]], [[Battle of Tinian|Tinian]], and [[Battle of Guam (1944)|Guam]].<ref name="second"/> He was engaged in supplying arms and ammunition to the guerrillas in the [[Philippines]] and fought the Japanese in Kerama Reto and [[Battle of Okinawa|Okinawa]].<ref name="second"/>
After World War II, Boehm left the Navy briefly, but reenlisted after a few months of civilian life. He served as [[Boatswain's Mate (United States Navy)|Chief Boatswain's Mate]] aboard the {{USS|Worcester|CL-144}} during the [[Korean War]] providing fire support for the [[United States Marine Corps|Marine Corps]] [[Battle of Inchon|landing at Inchon]] and covering the retreat at the [[Chosin Reservoir]]. In 1955 Boehm went through UDT ([[Underwater Demolition Team]]) training at the age of 31. Because of his prior experience as a deep-sea diver he had the opportunity to test prototype [[submersibles]] and [[SEAL Delivery Vehicle|swimmer-delivery vehicles]]. Eventually he was commissioned as an officer.
After receiving his commission, in early 1960 Boehm developed, designed, implemented, and led the US Navy's [[commando]] organization known as the [[Navy SEALS|SEALs]]. He was the first Officer in Charge (OIC) of SEAL Team Two.<ref name="comphist">{{cite book |last=Dockery |first=Kevin |title=Navy
While forming the SEALs, Boehm was subjected to a Board of Inquiry five times (but never [[court-martial]]ed) 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-15]]s on the open market as opposed to going through official channels or the Navy's Bureau of Weapons.<ref name="comphist"/><ref name="BM">{{cite book |last=Kelly |first=Orr |title=Brave Men Dark Waters |year=1992 |publisher=Pocket Books |location=New York |isbn=978-0-671-86762-1 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bravemendarkwate00orrk/page/111 111–113, 140] |url=https://archive.org/details/bravemendarkwate00orrk/page/111 }}</ref> The investigations were dropped after he received authorization from President [[John F. Kennedy]] following a Kennedy visit to the [[Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek|Little Creek]] training area to see the SEALs in action.<ref name="comphist"/><ref name="HS1"/><ref>{{cite book |last=Kelly |first=Orr |date=1992 |title=Brave Men, Dark Waters: The Untold Story of the Navy SEALs |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3c-1AwAAQBAJ&
Boehm's idea for a Naval
==Service in Vietnam==
On November 4, 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
==Post Vietnam Service==
Boehm assisted in the design and implementation of the Navy's first counterinsurgency course, for which he received the [[Navy Achievement Medal]].<ref name="comphist"/> Following this, he was named head of the Navy's River Patrol Craft Division where he developed tactical procedures, organized, and trained [[Patrol Boat, River
==Death==
Boehm died December 30, 2008, at his home in [[Punta Gorda, Florida]]. He was 84. According to his wife Susan, he wanted his death to go unpublicized.
On August 19, 2009, [[President of the United States of America|President]] [[Barack Obama]] signed Public Law No. 111-59 (H.R. 2470), sponsored by [[Tom Rooney (Florida politician)|Congressman Tom Rooney]], which officially named the Murdock Post Office in [[Port Charlotte, Florida]], located in [[Charlotte County, Florida|Charlotte County]] in which Boehm lived, after him.<ref>{{cite web
{{Quote|To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 19190 Cochran Boulevard FRNT in Port Charlotte, Florida, as the "Lieutenant Commander Roy H. Boehm Post Office Building"| Public Law No. 111-59, enacted August 19, 2009}}
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*[[File:Presidential Unit Citation (Korea).svg|106px]] [[Korean Presidential Unit Citation]]
*[[File:United Nations Medal ribbon.svg|106px]] [[United Nations Medal]]
*[[File:Phliber rib.
*[[File:United Nations
*[[File:Vietnam Campaign Medal ribbon with 60- clasp.svg|106px]] [[Vietnam Campaign Medal]]
*[[File:United States Navy Rifle Marksmanship Ribbon with expert device.svg|106px]] [[Marksmanship Medal|USN Expert Rifle Medal]]
*[[File:United States Navy Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon with expert device.svg|106px]] [[Marksmanship Medal|USN Expert Pistol Medal]]
==References==
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[[Category:1924 births]]
[[Category:2008 deaths]]
[[Category:
[[Category:
[[Category:
[[Category:
[[Category:People from Punta Gorda, Florida]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Air Medal]]
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