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 4th, 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.
