Joel Thompson Boone Joel Thompson Boone ( August 2 , 1889 – April 2 , 1974 ) was a United States Navy officer who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during World War I . In addition to the Medal of Honor , Boone received the Army ' s Distinguished Service Cross 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 and graduated in June 1913 from Hahnemann Medical College 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 . 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 and Calvin Coolidge . When President Herbert Hoover took office in March 1929 , he was assigned as the physician to the White House . 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 and later transferred to the Naval Hospital in Seattle , as medical officer - in - command . In April 1945 , Boone was promoted to commodore and ordered as Fleet Medical Officer to the commander of the Third Fleet , 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 . 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 . Death and Burial . Vice Admiral Boone died April 2 , 1974 in Washington , D . C . and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery . His grave can be found in section 11 . When his wife Helen died on November 2 , 1977 she was 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 frigate s 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 , and commissioned 15 May 1982 . 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 .