Marine Corps Veteran Walter Boomer is today's Veteran of the Day.

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Marine Corps Veteran Walter Boomer, who served as a commanding general during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

Walter Boomer was born in 1938 in Rich Square, North Carolina. Boomer graduated from the Randolph Macon Academy in Front Royal, Virginia, and later earned a bachelor’s degree from Duke University. He commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps and in 1961.

Boomer first served with 1st Battalion, 8th Marines and then 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines, 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina. By December 1961, he promoted to first lieutenant and later to captain in 1965. Boomer saw action in Vietnam from 1966-1967 while working as the commanding officer for Company H, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines.

In August 1971, Boomer went back to Vietnam as an advisor to one of the South Vietnamese Marine Infantry Battalions. For years to come, he worked in various capacities throughout the states while working his way up the ranks.

In August 1990, Boomer deployed to Saudi Arabia, where he served as the commanding general, U.S. Marines Central Command and I Marine Expeditionary Force during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Boomer returned to Camp Pendleton in San Diego County, California, in April 1991. He became commanding general for the I Marine Expeditionary Force and the Marine Corps Base.

In September 1992, Boomer became Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps. He retired from the Marine Corps in 1994. Throughout his service, Boomer received numerous medals and awards including a Distinguished Service Medal, a Silver Star with gold star, a Legion of Merit and two Bronze Star Medals with Combat “V.”

Thank you for your service!


Nominate a Veteran for #VeteranOfTheDay

Do you want to light up the face of a special Veteran? Have you been wondering how to tell your Veteran they are special to you? VA’s #VeteranOfTheDay social media feature is an opportunity to highlight your Veteran and his/her service.

It’s easy to nominate a Veteran. Visit our blog post about nominating to learn how to create the best submission.


Contributors

Writer: Amanda Baker

Editor: Christopher Wilson

Fact checker: Monique Quihuis

Graphic artist: Grace Yang

Leave a comment

The comments section is for opinions and feedback on this particular article; this is not a customer support channel. If you are looking for assistance, please visit Ask VA or call 1-800-698-2411. Please, never put personally identifiable information (SSAN, address, phone number, etc.) or protected health information into the form — it will be deleted for your protection.

3 Comments

  1. Senior Veterans Care Network January 8, 2021 at 16:42

    Thank you for your service Walter Boomer.

  2. Ayers Lauren January 8, 2021 at 16:09

    Need to do a better job of proof reading.1st paragraph last sentence should be “He was commissioned.” The same in 2nd paragraph 2nd sentence should be “He was promoted”. 3rd paragraph 2nd sentence should be “the states”. 4th paragraph 1st sentence to many “as” and it is not U S Marines Central Command, it is U S Central Command.

    • Adam Stump January 11, 2021 at 08:29

      Good morning. The information you claim is incorrect is cited from Marine Corps University at https://www.usmcu.edu/Research/Marine-Corps-History-Division/People/Whos-Who-in-Marine-Corps-History/Abrell-Cushman/General-Walter-E-Boomer/. Specifically, Marine Corps University states “On 15 August 1990, General Boomer deployed to Saudi Arabia, where he served as the Commanding General, U.S. Marines Central Command and I Marine Expeditionary Force during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.”

      Also, the other two items you pointed out inserting the word was creates passive tense, which is something writers strive to avoid.

      Thank you for the addition of the word the and removing the word as. Those have been corrected.

Comments are closed.

More Stories