US Navy RADM Joel T. Boone: Medal of Honor Hero to White House Physician

Welcome back everyone.  On today's episode of Duty & Valor, you’ll hear the story of a man who dedicated his military career to treating the lives of fellow Americans.  A man who would distinguish himself while serving his nation in three major wars.  A man who is regarded as the most highly decorated medical officer in US military history.  This is the story of Medal of Honor Recipient US Navy VADM Joel T. Boone.

Joel was born on August 29th, 1889 in St. Clair, Pennsylvania.  He was one of four children born to parents William and Annie Boone.  After graduating from Pottsville HIgh School, he attended Mercersburg Academy, a college prep boarding school, before attending Hahnemann Medical College, where he graduated in 1913.  The following year he entered military service as a lieutenant junior grade in the US Navy Reserve.  After further education at  the US Naval Medical School the following year, in 1915, he was commissioned in the regular US Navy and was assigned to the Marine artillery battalion of the Marine Corps Expeditionary Force in Haiti.  

In 1917, after the US declared war on Germany, Boone was transferred to the battleship USS Wyoming.  Soon after he was promoted to lieutenant and joined the 6th Marine Regiment as a surgeon in France.  There the 6th fought with the Army 2nd Division as part of the American Expeditionary Force.  

His service during WWI saw him treating injured US servicemen at the Battle of Verdun, the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, and the Battle of Belleau Wood.  And it was there at the bloody Battle of Belleau Wood where Lt. Boone first distinguished himself.  

This battle was where the German spring offensive of 1918 against the American, French, and British Allied forces had been halted.  On June 9 and 10th, the regimental aid station where Boone was working, was hit and destroyed by artillery fire on successive days.  Ten men were killed and many more injured those days.  Boone inspired those around him by his non-stop treatment of the wounded.  He was also credited with organizing the evacuation of men who were in dire need of additional medical care.  

Two weeks later on June 25th, Lt. Boone setup advanced dressing stations close to the front lines following the attack against enemy machine gun positions.  Again he was credited with saving the lives of countless men.  For his actions during the Battle of Belleau Wood, Lt. Boone was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.  But Lt. Boone was far from being done.    

On July 19th, 1918, Boone and the 6th Marine Regiment were north of Belleau, France  where they faced heavy fighting against the Germans.  During the fighting, Boone and other men of his unit took shelter from some of the heaviest fighting in a ravine.  

The Germans were hitting the Marines with literally everything they had, which included small arms, machine guns, mortar, and artillery firing multiple types of shells, including those fitted with mustard gas.  With Marines falling wounded throughout the battlefield around him, Lt. Boone knew his worth as a surgeon was non-existent while he took cover in that ravine.

Without regard for his own safety, Boone raced into the open field to treat the fallen Marines.  He dressed wounds and provided whatever medical care that he could.  He faced heavy enemy fire over a prolonged period of time until he ran out of medical supplies.  But his heroism didn’t end there.  

Lt. Boone was then seen racing back to gather more medical supplies.  He faced high explosive and gas artillery shells, but he soon returned on a motorcycle with its sidecar filled with supplies.  He then resumed his life saving care of his fellow Americans.  Much like earlier in the day, he would eventually run out of supplies again.  He then performed the same act and dodged shells exploding around him, and he soon returned with another sidecar full of medical supplies. 

For his actions that day, Lt. Joel T. Boone was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1919.  It was the Assistant Navy Secretary, Franklin D. Roosevelt who pinned the medal upon Boone.  The following year in 1920, he and his wife Helen had a daughter. 

Following WWI, Boone remained in the Navy and in 1922 he was assigned to the USS Mayflower, the presidential yacht.  He remained there under the Harding and Coolidge administrations, before becoming the Physician to the President when President Hoover took office. During that time he was promoted to Commander, and he continued in that position under Franklin Roosevelt’s administration as well.  

In 1939 he was promoted to Captain and held multiple senior medical officer positions prior to the start of WWII.  During the war he was promoted to commodore and was the Fleet Medical Officer of the Third Fleet.  For his service in WWII, he was awarded a Bronze Star and the Navy Commendation Medal.

By the start of the Korean War, Boone was now a Rear Admiral and served as the Inspector General of the Navy Medical Department until his retirement in December 1950, after over 35 years of service.  And upon his retirement, he was promoted to Vice Admiral.  When his time in the Navy was done, VADM Boone had earned the Medal of Honor, a Distinguished Service Cross, a Silver Star with five oak leaf clusters, the Bronze Star with V for valor, the Navy Commendation Medal and three purple hearts, among many awards.  He is regarded as the most highly decorated medical officer in the history of the US Military.   

Following his retirement, his service to fellow servicemen didn’t end as he was appointed the medical director of the Department of Veteran Affairs.

Vice Admiral Joel T. Boone died on April 2nd, 1974 at the Bethesda Naval Hospital, which is now known as the Walter Reed Medical Center, and he is buried at the Arlington National Cemetery. 

Joel T. Boone was an inspiration to those who served with him.  He demonstrated that one doesn’t need to wield a weapon to distinguish him or herself in combat.  His selflessness and bravery was the reason many of his fellow servicemen were able to return home to their loved ones, and our nation is forever grateful.  

Thank you for listening to this episode of Duty & Valor.  To read more about this week’s hero, check out the sources used in today's episode in our show notes and at dutyandvalor.com. 

If you haven’t done so already,  please take a moment to follow and review us wherever you’re listening.  And please join us for our next episode, where we'll be sharing the inspiring story of another American hero who served with pride and lived with humility.