This past Thursday the Ole Miss football family saw the passing of another Rebels legend. Arnold ‘Showboat’ Boykin peacefully passed away at his home in Brandon while surrounded by family. Boykin was retired from the US Army after 20 years of service with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Boykin first served in the Korean War and then in Vietnam.
As an artillery battalion commander in Vietnam Boykin was highly decorated earning the Legion of Merit/Oak Leaf Cluster, The Bronze Star and Distinguished Flying Cross. Boykin had participated in the ROTC program while at Ole Miss and was actually drafted for the Korean War while in the Detroit Lions training camp after being drafted by Detroit in the 1952 NFL Draft.