Joel Thompson Boone (August 29, 1889 – April 2, 1974) was a
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
officer who received the
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...
for his actions during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
In addition to the Medal of Honor, Boone received the Army's
Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries.
*Distinguished Service Cross (Australia)
The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...
and was awarded the
Silver Star six times. These awards made Boone the most highly decorated medical officer in the history of the United States armed services.
Early life
Boone was born in
St. Clair, Pennsylvania, on August 29, 1889. He was a cousin several times removed to
Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone (September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the we ...
. He attended
Mercersburg Academy
Mercersburg Academy (formerly Marshall College and Mercersburg College) is an independent selective college-preparatory boarding & day high school in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania in the United States. Founded in 1893, the school enrolls approximat ...
and graduated in June 1913 from
Hahnemann Medical College
Drexel University College of Medicine is the medical school of Drexel University, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The medical school represents the consolidation of two medical schools: the first U.S. medical school f ...
in Philadelphia. The following year he was commissioned a lieutenant (junior grade) in the United States Naval Reserve.
After attending the U.S. Naval Medical School in Washington, D.C., in the summer of 1915, he was commissioned in the Regular Navy and assigned to Marine artillery battalion of the Marine Expeditionary Force in Haiti until 1916.
First World War
When the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, Boone was transferred to the battleship and was promoted to lieutenant in June of the same year. He later served as a surgeon with the
6th Marine Regiment, which was part of the Army's
2nd Division while it was part of the
American Expeditionary Force in France. On July 19, 1918, he displayed extraordinary heroism while treating casualties under fire. For this action he was later awarded the Medal of Honor.
He was promoted to lieutenant commander in September 1918.
Post First World War service
Boone remained in the Navy after the First World War and also served during the Second World War and the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. He was one of the few individuals to have served in all three conflicts.
After returning from France he was assigned to serve as the director of the Bureau of Naval Affairs at the headquarters of the
American Red Cross in Washington, D.C. In June 1922 he was assigned to the Presidential yacht and served in that capacity during the administrations of
Warren Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. A ...
and
Calvin Coolidge.
When President
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...
took office in March 1929, Boone was assigned as the physician to the White House. He invented a game called
Hooverball Hoover ball is a medicine ball game invented by President Herbert Hoover's personal physician, Medal of Honor recipient Joel T. Boone, to help keep then-President Hoover fit. The Hoover Presidential Library Association and the city of West Branc ...
to help President Hoover keep in shape. He continued in the position when
Franklin Roosevelt took office in 1933. He was promoted to commander in September 1931 and to captain in July 1939.
In late 1940, Captain Boone became the senior medical officer at
Naval Air Station San Diego
Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island , at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay in San Diego, California, is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the United States Navy – Naval Base Coronado (N ...
and later transferred to the Naval Hospital in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, as medical officer-in-command.
In April 1945, Boone was promoted to
commodore
Commodore may refer to:
Ranks
* Commodore (rank), a naval rank
** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom
** Commodore (United States)
** Commodore (Canada)
** Commodore (Finland)
** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore''
* Air commodore ...
and ordered as Fleet Medical Officer to the commander of the
Third Fleet
The United States Third Fleet is one of the numbered fleets in the United States Navy. Third Fleet's area of responsibility includes approximately fifty million square miles of the eastern and northern Pacific Ocean areas including the Bering ...
, Admiral
William F. Halsey. For his service in the Pacific Theater, Boone was awarded the
Bronze Star Medal, the
Navy Commendation Ribbon and two battle stars.
He was promoted to the rank of
rear admiral on January 8, 1946, and was reassigned as District Medical Officer, Eleventh Naval District at
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
.
In March 1950, he became the Inspector General of the Navy Medical Department. He went to Korea in 1950 – shortly before his retirement for physical disability in December 1950.
Upon his retirement from the Navy, Boone was promoted to the rank of
vice admiral on the retired list in recognition of his distinguished career, and was appointed to serve as medical director of the
United States Department for Veterans Affairs.
Death and burial
Vice Admiral Boone died April 2, 1974, in Washington, D.C., and was buried at
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
, in
Arlington, Virginia
Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...
. His wife Helen Elizabeth (1889–1977) is buried with him.
Awards and decorations
Medal of Honor citation
Rank and organization: Lieutenant (Medical Corps), U.S. Navy. Place and date: Vicinity Vierzy, France, 19 July 1918. Entered service at: St. Clair, Pa. Born: 2 August 1889, St. Clair, Pa.
Citation:
For extraordinary heroism, conspicuous gallantry, and intrepidity while serving with the 6th Regiment, U.S. Marines, in actual conflict with the enemy. With absolute disregard for personal safety, ever conscious and mindful of the suffering fallen, Surg. Boone, leaving the shelter of a ravine, went forward onto the open field where there was no protection and despite the extreme enemy fire of all calibers, through a heavy mist of gas, applied dressings and first aid to wounded marines. This occurred southeast of Vierzy, near the cemetery, and on the road south from that town. When the dressings and supplies had been exhausted, he went through a heavy barrage of large-caliber shells, both high explosive and gas, to replenish these supplies, returning quickly with a sidecar load, and administered them in saving the lives of the wounded. A second trip, under the same conditions and for the same purpose, was made by Surg. Boone later that day.
Distinguished Service Cross
Citation:
The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Joel Thompson Boone, Lieutenant (Medical Corps), U.S. Navy, for extraordinary heroism in action in the Bois-de-Belleau, France, June 9–10 and 25, 1918. On two successive days the regimental aid station in which he was working was struck by heavy shells and in each case demolished. Ten men were killed and a number of wounded were badly hurt by falling timbers and stone.
Under these harassing conditions this officer continued without cessation his treatment of the wounded, superintending their evacuation, and setting an inspiring example of heroism to the officers and men serving under him. On June 25, 1918, Surgeon Boone followed the attack by one battalion against enemy machine-gun positions in the Bois-de-Belleau, establishing advanced dressing stations under continuous shell fire. General Orders No. No. 137, W.D., 1918
Honors
The is the twentieth ship in the United States Navy's
''Oliver Hazard Perry'' class of guided missile
frigates and is the only ship to bear Boone's name. The ship was ordered January 23, 1978,
launched 16 January 1980 by
Todd Pacific Shipyards
Vigor Shipyards is the current entity operating the former Todd Shipyards after its acquisition in 2011. Todd Shipyards was founded in 1916, which owned and operated shipyards on the West Coast of the United States, East Coast of the United S ...
, and
commissioned 15 May 1982.
[USS ''Boone'' home page]
/ref>
The Vice Admiral Joel T. Boone Health Care Treatment Facility on Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story – CNIC is also named in his honor.
Dates of rank
See also
* List of Medal of Honor recipients
* List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War I
World War I (also known as the First World War and the Great War) was a global military conflict that embroiled most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Entente and the Central Powers. The immediate cause of th ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boone, Joel Thompson
1889 births
1974 deaths
United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients
People from St. Clair, Pennsylvania
Military personnel from Pennsylvania
United States Navy personnel of World War I
United States Navy World War II admirals
United States Navy vice admirals
Burials at Arlington National Cemetery
Recipients of the Silver Star
Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
Officiers of the Légion d'honneur
Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)
Recipients of the Honour medal for courage and devotion
World War I recipients of the Medal of Honor
Physicians from Pennsylvania
Physicians to the President
Mercersburg Academy alumni
American military personnel of the Banana Wars