Retired Navy SEAL, Survivor Favorite, Passes Away
Rudy Boesch did two combat tours in Vietnam. (Navy)
Retired Navy SEAL, Rudy Boesch, passed away Friday night while surrounded by family. He was 91. He showed up in the inaugural season of Survivor and was a favorite among the fans. He returned for their eighth season, the “All-Star” season.
He may have not placed first in the show, but he survived where he needed to survive. He did two combat tours in Vietnam. He earned the Bronze Star. He’s also credited with the longest time in service among the SEALS. He served for 45 years.
From the Navy Times:
Navy Times editor’s note: Rudolph Boesch was still in training when World War II ended, but he worked his way up the UDTs in the 1950s and was advanced to Chief of the Boat of SEAL Team 2 when it was formed in 1962. Master Chief Boatswain’s Mate Boesch retired in 1990 after serving more than 45 years in the special warfare community, including two tours in Vietnam. A command master chief, he was the first senior enlisted adviser at the newly founded U.S. Special Operations Command and departed active duty as the “Bullfrog,” the SEAL with the longest continuous TIS. We’ll second Gonzalez. He was a legend. Fair winds and following seas, Rudy.
You could read more on Navy Times, to include additional photos.
Category: Navy, Veterans in the news
Another steel-skinned Warrior joins his Comrades in Valhalla.
*Slow Salute *
Godspeed and Farewell Command Master Chief Rudy Boesch. You were one helluava Warrior. The bar is open in Valhalla and we’ve got the watch.
Hand Salute…Ready…Two
Fair Winds and following seas, Master Chief.
I always liked that he put “PT” as his religion. Lead from the front kind of master chief.
RIP
RIP
Cool guy
One of his greatest accomplishments had to have been putting up with all those phony fools in Hollywood without rearranging some physiognomies.
RIP.
Fair Winds and Following Seas Master Chief
Rest well. We have the watch.
I served many years with Rudy. Remember him best from “get a haircut!…” He used to always volunteer to go with the platoons to A.P. Hill to be the cook so he could get away from the team area for a while. Everyone who remembers him will miss him.
FW&FS, MCPO Boesch
(checks haircut in mirror)
An absolutely amazing career. It’s incredible a man could serve 45 years in the military and almost beyond belief he did so in Naval Special Warfare. Had to have been one of the toughest men to ever walk the Earth. RIP Bullfrog.
I looked at his bio the other day. 23 years as a Master Chief.
He was a genetic freak I think, as far as age & years in NSW goes
RIP, sir.
I recall the first season of survivor. Having not seen any of the episodes other than brief snatches here and there, I thought the show sounded like a neat concept. My girlfriend (now wife) had been watching it so I watched the finale with her. When the not so macho, eh hm. . ., fella won on the basis of being better liked by those who had been voted off (and thus were essentially failures), that’s when I wrote off the show as Hollywood bullshoi.