Roger Boeker was raised in Madison, Wisconsin by a family of military veterans. Just days before his September 1942 birth, Boeker's father Leonard enlisted in the U.S. Army for service during World War II. His uncles Orrin and Leon Slauson, brothers from Spring Green, Wisconsin, joined the U.S. Army Air Corps in April 1943 and August 1944, respectively, while another uncle, Arthur C. F. Boeker, served in France during the first world war with Ambulance Company No. 20. Other ancestors included a Civil War veteran of the famed Iron Brigade and eighth and ninth great-grandfathers who fought during the Revolutionary War.

Embarking on a similar path to military service, Roger Boeker joined the University of Wisconsin's Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) when he began studying political science in 1960. However, his plans were derailed after three years when he broke his leg and was unable to complete the program. Instead, he waited until after his college graduation to enlist, and became the first to split from his family's long tradition of U.S. Army service when he joined the United States Marine Corps in August 1965.

Boeker was sent to boot camp in San Diego, California where he had the memorable experience of training under drill instructor SSgt R. Lee Ermey, who later became a well-known Hollywood actor. He next completed infantry training at Camp Pendleton, then served as an assignment clerk responsible for arranging transportation for Marines to Vietnam. Not long after, PFC Boeker wrote his own orders to go overseas and arrived in Da Nang in July 1966. There, he was assigned to Headquarters Company of the 3rd Marine Division and put in charge of the unit's education department.

Boeker's duties included administering high school equivalency tests, providing college counseling, and running a library that helped fill the hours of inactivity for Marines in the combat zone. These duties were occasionally broken up by orders to fly over north Vietnam and distribute propaganda leaflets over areas believed to be occupied by enemy troops. Then in March 1967, Boeker was again sidelined by injury after breaking both of his legs jumping from a delivery truck while under enemy fire in Da Nang. He was medevacked to Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines and spent several weeks recovering in Japan before he returned to Vietnam.

Corporal Boeker finally returned stateside after 13 months and was honorably discharged on August 20, 1967. Upon his return home, he took a sales job with Oscar Mayer which led to 25 years of employment with a variety of food companies around the country. He returned to Madison in 1992 and taught at Edgewood College followed by the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs. After he retired, he became heavily involved in veteran organizations, particularly the VFW and Marine Corps League, and assisted with special programs such as Badger Honor Flights until the time of his passing in 2018.