Harry Beal, the first volunteer for the newly formed SeAL teams died on January 28th at age 90.
Beal began his Navy career in 1948, first serving aboard the U.S.S. Shenandoah as a gunner’s mate. He joined the underwater demolition team, the precursor to the Navy SeALs, in 1955.
When the first Navy SeAL teams were established in 1962, Beal was the first to volunteer for the elite special operations force.
“President Kennedy wanted some idiots that see lightning, hear thunder, balance a ball on their nose, and had ‘stupid’ written right there,” Beal joked, gesturing to his forehead during an interview in November 2017, “and I had all of that so I put my hand up. I became the first SEAL on the East Coast in the United States Navy.”
Harry Beal was the first Navy SEAL, thanks to the roster being ordered alphabetically. He also may have been the shortest, but he was capable of doing a one-armed pullup.
Later, Beal was credited with pulling John Glenn out of the water after his historic spaceflight. Beal became a SeAL instructor, serving until his retirement from the U.S. Navy in 1968.
Beal worked for the Pennsylvania DOT after retiring from the Navy. In 2020, a bridge was named after Beal in his hometown of Meyersdale, Pennsylvania.
We have the Watch.