Rudy Boesch (born Rudolph E. Boesch on January 20, 1928) is a former Navy SEAL. After his honorable discharge, he was the oldest competitor on Survivor: Borneo at 72 years of age, where he finished in third place. He set the record again when he competed on Survivor: All-Stars at 75. He is a resident of Virginia Beach.

Military experience

Boesch served in the U.S. military for 45 years, initially as a UDT Frogman, then becoming one of the first Naval Special Warfare "operators" upon creation of SEAL Team TWO. From 1968"1970, Boesch completed two combat deployments to Vietnam. Boesch earned the Bronze Star for heroic action during more than 45 combat operations. In 1967, Boesch was promoted to the rate of Master Chief Petty Officer. During and after his service in Vietnam, Boesch was designated the "Chief SEAL" (a.k.a. "Bullfrog"), and set physical and operational standards at SEAL Team TWO. Boesch was awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal as Command Master Chief Petty Officer of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). Boesch was honorably discharged from the Navy on August 1, 1990.

Survivor

Boesch was one of the final three players in Survivor: Borneo, but was eliminated from the final immunity challenge of the season when he inadvertently dropped his hand from the idol the competitors had to keep their hands on; he was subsequently voted out of the game by Kelly Wiglesworth. In 2004, he appeared in Survivor: All-Stars. At age 75, Boesch was the oldest contestant ever. He was the second person voted off the show, due to a lack of strength and an injured ankle.

After Survivor

In 2000, he appeared in the JAG TV episode "The Princess and the Petty Officer" as Rear Admiral (and then head of JAG) A.J. Chegwidden's Navy SEAL instructor. Boesch hosted Combat Missions, a Mark Burnett-produced reality series that aired on the USA Network in 2002. Boesch wrote a book, The Book of Rudy (ISBN 1-58062-613-0), which contains his opinions on an array of topics. He is also featured in a Survivor slot machine, which shows a clip of him from the show if you hit his bonus.

Personal life

Boesch's wife of 53 years, Marge, died on November 1, 2008 after a long illness. Survivor: Gabon showed an "In Memory" dedication for her on the episode "The Brains Behind Everything".

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