Although undesirable eyesight saved him from receiving a fee within the U.S. military whilst he graduated from the Naval Academy in 1933, Draper Kauffman turned a hero of underwater demolition in global warfare II and went directly to a distinct naval profession. this day Admiral Kauffman is remembered because the nation's first frogman and the daddy of the army Seals. His superb wartime carrier disarming enemy bombs, constructing bomb disposal colleges, and organizing and major the Navy's first demolition devices is the point of interest of this biography written via Kauffman's sister. Elizabeth Kauffman Bush, who is also the aunt of President George W. Bush, attracts on relatives papers in addition to army files to inform Kauffman's tale for the 1st time. decided to guard the reason for freedom lengthy earlier than the U.S. ever entered the struggle, Kauffman used to be taken prisoner by way of the Germans as an ambulance motive force in France, and after his free up joined the Royal military to defuse delayed-action bombs throughout the London blitz. After Pearl Harbor his eyes have been deemed enough and he used to be given a fee within the U.S. Naval Reserve. together with his event, he used to be requested to set up an underwater demolition institution in fortress Pierce, Florida, the place he for my part expert males to defuse bombs and neutralize different submerged hazards. His males have been despatched to demolish the hindrances put in by means of the Nazis at Normandy, and Kauffman himself led underwater demolition groups within the Pacific at Saipan, Tinian, and Guam and later directed UDT operations at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. His males bear in mind him as an outstanding chief who led through instance. He educated and fought along them, impervious to possibility. as a result of the excessive criteria he set should you turned "frogmen,"thousands of yankee lives have been kept in global battle II, Korea, and Vietnam. Draper Kauffman's early tested UDT traditions of perseverance, teamwork, and a long-lasting brotherhood of fellows of impressive braveness is carried on by way of military Seals. this is often his legacy to the U.S. military and his country.