Announcement to the UDT/SEAL Association

While Pete resided in the memory care unit of the Coronado Retirement Village, RADM Cathal Flynn visited several times a week and escorted him to swim workouts on the Naval Amphibious Base. 

The following is an announcement to the UDT/SEAL Association, written by Rear Adm. Flynn, a friend of 50 years who also served in SEAL Team ONE, at left in the photo below:

                                   

With deep regret we report the death last Wednesday, March 4^th, of Captain Peter E. Riddle, USNR (Ret.), from the effects of Lewy-body dementia, a cruelly progressive disorder he had endured with great courage, good humor, and dignity for the past several years. Throughout his ordeal, he displayed a SEAL’s determination to “make the best of it, with no whining.”

Pete played football with the Bulldogs of Yale University and was a member of the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps. Commissioned in June 1960, he first served on a destroyer, then was ordered to Underwater Demolition Basic Training Class 28 in Coronado.  On graduation in June 1962, he was assigned to UDT Twelve, one of two Coronado Teams, and served as a platoon officer until 1964. As a junior officer he was notable for his height, the tallest man in the Teams, his conscientious application to learning the Navy frogman profession, and exceptional self-control. That last quality saved his life when, during an underwater hull search of a moored cruiser for limpet mines, he was pulled against the grill of a negligently operating sea water intake; the force of water ripped away his face mask and scuba mouthpiece. But he coolly held his breath until his teammates got the intake secured and he could then swim to the surface.  Telling about this near-catastrophe, his emphasis was on a Chief Petty Officer’s dry remark, “You shouldn’t have pretended to be an abalone, Mr. Riddle!”

Pete detached from active duty in 1964, earned his J.D. from the University of Chicago law school and was admitted to the Bar in 1967. He then returned to active duty in SEAL Team One, with the understanding that he would be sent to Vietnam. Accordingly, he was deployed as Officer in Charge of SEALs assigned to Naval Advisory Detachment, MACV-SOG, then engaged in classified special operations throughout Vietnam, for which the Detachment was later awarded the U.S. Presidential Unit Citation. At that time, his superiors wrote of his exceptional professionalism, competence, determination, unfailing good humor in demanding circumstances, and exemplary ethics.

Having served effectively in Vietnam, Pete again detached from active duty, but continued to serve in the Naval Reserve, including assignments in UDT/SEAL Pacific Team 119 and Naval Special Warfare Group One Detachment 119.

Throughout his active and Reserve service, Pete Riddle was respected and liked by all for his leadership, fairness, kindness, and all-round professionalism. He maintained SEAL-level fitness as a Masters swimmer and triathlete. His sterling qualities were also apparent in his civilian profession, first in law practice, then as a Judge of the San Diego Municipal Court from which he was promoted to the Superior Court. In the opinion of his fellow SEALS, “The Honorable” was an appropriate form of address for Pete Riddle, a true gentleman who will be sorely missed.