Via the U.S. Naval Institute’s blog, Roy Boehm, a Brooklynite and, not coincidentally, one of the hardest men ever to walk the earth — he was the first Navy SEAL and a veteran of World War II, Korea and Vietnam — has passed on. His obituary says he didn’t want an obituary, so I apologize to his family and his memory for noting his death, but his death ought to be noted. As should his attitude toward his death, which is worthy of emulation:

Even Boehm’s cremation urn, which sat near a chest labeled "Davy Jones’ Locker," spoke of his attitude toward death. Open the lid, and one would find a miniature ship’s cabin, replete with a bunk and a sea bag.

"My ashes are going into the sea bag," Boehm had said in a 1997 interview. "How many people can hardly wait to get where they’re going?"

RIP.