Navy Frogmen who paved the way in Naval Special Warfare (SEALs)

The Underwater Demolition Teams (UDTs) of World War II is where Naval Special Warfare as we know it today was born. During the 1930s as America’s greatest generation prepared for war, the United Stated Navy realized that if such a large amphibious invasion is going to take place that there will be a need for silent warriors to swim the occupied beaches, conduct reconnaissance of known enemy positions and destroy any obstacles that the enemy has in place as a stumbling block to the allied invasion.

Often times they were armed with just pair of swim fins, a mask, and knife. In 1942 the Amphibious Scout and Raider School was created in Fort Pierce, Florida to train such warriors. It was here where the Navy trained the very first group that was prepared for amphibious landings, raids, and tactics. UDTs served not only in World War II but in Korea and Vietnam where the very first SEAL Team was commissioned in 1962.

Fort Pierce, Florida is home to the UDT/Navy SEAL Museum which is an incredible museum and memorial to our nations frogmen. Today however, SEALs are trained in sunny Coronado, California in what is called Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL Training or BUD/S. During one of the many miles running in soggy boots in the middle of the night a BUD/S class could be heard singing the old cadence, “We are the sons of UDT”.

Navy SEALs like Mike Thornton, Danny Dietz, Marcus and Morgan Luttrell, Kory Knowles, Thomas Retzer and Edward Byers can trace their heritage back to warriors like Pierce W. Bolden, a Dunedin, Florida native, who is pictured above in the first row, fifth from the left. The picture was taken in February 1945 on a tiny island called Ulithi where the Navy had established an outpost. This brave man left the calm, peaceful waters off of Dunedin to swim the shark infested waters of Tarawa and Peleliu armed to the teeth. He and I may have learned to swim on the same beaches here in Pinellas County as I am a native as well.

Veterans Funeral Care is blessed because we get the chance to meet brave men like Pierce Bolden everyday. Being able to serve families of men like this hardly seems like work. Next time you are driving or walking Dunedin Causeway and see an elderly man getting his morning walk in while quietly humming a cadence to himself, remember, there are heroes among us.