Robert C. Riddell II, 68, died on December 8, 2014 at Flagler Hospital in St. Augustine, FL. He was born in Providence, RI and had resided in St. Augustine for the past 11 years, moving there from Jacksonville. He was a 1969 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY.
At the age of 17, his parents put Bob on a greyhound bus to be enlisted in the Army. After completing his entry testing and skills assessment, he was approached with an offer to attend West Point. This would change the entire course of his life and career.
Bob entered West Point in the summer of 1965. After spending time in the Army as an enlisted soldier and having gone through the Prep School, Bob became a member of 9th New Cadet Company in Beast Barracks. All who knew him in those challenging days looked to him for leadership. He had something that most of his classmates did not, experience. His guidance was sought to get the rest through the tough times. Bob not only had street smarts, but he knew how to lead and teach others.
When Beast was completed, he joined a true band of brothers in Company A-4, who are devastated by the loss of one of their own. Over the next four years, Bob showed himself to be a complex man—tough, direct, irascible and hard as nails—yet he had a giant heart and would do anything for those he cared about. Bob was committed to his classmates in Company A-4 above all else. He was legendary as a cadet and loomed large over all of those he touched.
After graduating, Bob joined the Infantry. He attended Jump School and Ranger School, and was deployed to Vietnam upon completion. He was assigned as an advisor to the Vietnamese Airborne Regiment and was involved in some of the heaviest fighting of the entire war. He was actively engaged in combat in the northern province of Quang Tri during the North Vietnamese invasion of 1972. Casualties were typically near 1,000 dead or wounded each day. In fact, Bob was one of those wounded. For his actions, he was awarded the Silver Star, our Nation’s third highest award for bravery. His citations also included a Purple Heart and two Bronze Stars for valor. Bob’s call sign was Destiny Bravo and, to this day, those attending the U.S. Army War College can hear an audio recording of Bob calling in an airstrike, as an example of staying calm under severe combat pressure, in order to save his men.
As a result of his wounds, Bob spent an extended period at Walter Reed. The wounds would plague him and were a constant reminder of what he had experienced. After leaving the service, Bob went on to earn two master’s degrees. He worked as a senior marketing executive at Fortune 500 companies. Most recently he worked as a civil engineer in the Army Corps of Engineers until his retirement in June 2014. In typical Riddell fashion, Bob tried to re-enter the Army after 9/11.
Bob was, indeed, a self-made man, a highly decorated Vietnam veteran and fortunate enough to have traveled the world. But what he mostly loved were the simple pleasures in life. He loved fishing, both cast and deep sea. He always enjoyed making a friendly wager on a baseball or football game (of course he requested the point spread and almost always won).
Bob’s daughter said it best: “He will soar his way through the night like an owl seeing the way. May he unveil his mask and all his worries and his untold secrets be lifted towards the light for external peace. He loved his family, his country and his ‘Band of A-4 Brothers.’ Destiny Bravo, they heard you, and they are coming…On Brave Old Army Team! On to the fray. Fight on to victory. For that’s the fearless Army way.”
Bob is survived by his wife, Elaine Riddell of St. Augustine; two daughters, Kelly Dunmire (Kurt) of Leesburg, VA and Keri Carter (Rodney) of Suffolk, VA; brother, Richard Riddell of Alpharetta, GA; sister, Adelaide Pickett of Crystal River, FL; and grandchildren, Madeline, Addison and Ryne. Bob accomplished a great deal throughout his life, but he was most proud of his family.