USMCGrunt
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Harry Beal, America's first Navy SEAL, dies at 90 years old
The Greenville Township resident was appointed by President John F. Kennedy in 1962. His son, Mack Beal, remembers him as a pioneer and a superhero.
www.goerie.com
Harry Beal (1930–2021), first Navy SEAL
Harry Beal, U.S. Navy veteran who was the first to volunteer as a Navy SEAL in 1962, died Tuesday in Somerset, Pennsylvania at the age of 90.
www.legacy.com
'The real thing': Somerset County man remembered as original SEAL, Meyersdale son
When Harry Beal was a teen growing up in Greenville Township, his father wanted him to work alongside him underground in the coal mines. Instead, Beal went underwater – eventually
www.tribdem.com
"Beal joined the U.S. Navy 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 SEALs team was established in 1962, Beal was the first to volunteer for the elite special operations force. Later, Beal was credited with pulling John Glenn (1921–2016) out of the water after his historic spaceflight. He became a SEAL instructor, serving until his retirement from the U.S. Navy in 1968. Beal later worked for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for 20 years until his retirement in 1990. In 2020, a bridge was named after Beal in his hometown of Meyersdale, Pennsylvania."