Joel Thompson Boone
Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy
Medal of Honor Recipient
World War I

Vice Admiral Joel Thompson Boone was a U.S. Navy officer who received the U.S. military's highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor, for his heroic actions during World War I. He reached the rank of Vice Admiral before retiring from the Navy.

Joel Thompson Boone was born on 29 August 1889 at St. Clair, PA. He graduated from Mercersburg (Pennsylvania) Academy in 1909; received an M.D. degree at Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia, 1913; and completed his graduate study at the U.S. Navy Medical School in Washington, DC in 1915. On 20 June 1914, he married Helen Elizabeth Koch.

He served as a Naval Medical Officer from 1914-50, which included combat duty in Haiti, 1915-16, and in France and Germany during World War I. On 19 July 1918, while serving with the 6th Regiment, U.S. Marines, Lieutenant Boone's heroic actions in treating the wounded during a battle in the vicinity of Vierzy, France, earned him the Medal of Honor.

Medal of Honor

Rank and organization: Lieutenant (Medical Corps), U.S. Navy.

Place and date: Vicinity Vierzy, France, 19 July 1918.

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.

During his military career, Boone's assignments and duties included:

• He was the physician to Presidents Harding, Coolidge and Hoover, 1922-33.

• Staff Commander, Base Force, U.S. Fleet, January-August 1940.

• Senior Medical Officer, Naval Air Station, San Diego, CA, 1940-43.

• Commander, Naval Hospital, Seattle, WA, 1943-45.

• Fleet Medical Officer, 3rd U.S. Fleet, 1945.

• District Medical Officer, 11th Naval District, 1946.

• Inspector of Medical Activities, Pacific Coast, 1946.

• Executive Secretary, Commission in Medical and Hospital Services, Armed Forces, Chief, Joint Plans and Action, Medical Services, Office of the Secretary of Defense, 1948-50.

• Inspector General, Medical Department, 1950.

He retired from active duty as a Vice Admiral in 1950 and then served as Medical Director of the Veterans Administration from 1951-55.

Medals and Awards

Medal of Honor
Distinguished Service Cross
Silver Star Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters
Bronze Star Medal with Combat "V" for Valor
Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal
Purple Heart with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters
Haitian Campaign Medal
World War I Victory Medal with 6 Battle Clasps
American Defense Service Medal
American Campaign Medal
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
World War II Victory Medal
Croix de Guerre with 2 Palms
Officer of the Legion of Honor
Order of Fourragere (France)
War Cross (Italy)

Honors

The USS Boone (FFG-28) 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 23 January 1978 and launched 16 January 1980 by Todd Pacific Shipyards. It was commissioned on 15 May 1982.

Death and Burial

Vice Admiral Joel Thompson Boone resided in Washington, DC, where he died on 2 April 1974. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA. His grave can be found in Section 11, Grave 137-2, Map Grid N/16.

When his wife, Helen Elizabeth (Koch) Boone, died on 2 November 1977, she was buried with him.