ping
Posted on 02/10/2017 10:28:18 AM PST by Brad from Tennessee
He was a “naked warrior” during World War II and Korea, a spy in China, a Navy SEAL, a mayor and one of the greatest surfers to ride the waves in Oceanside.
Retired Rear Adm. Richard “Dick” Lyon, the first Navy SEAL team reservist to become a flag officer, died Feb. 3 from age-related renal failure at his home in Oceanside. He was 93.
Called a modern Forrest Gump by his children because of his rich and varied life, he was known by war-hardened commandos for his stern demeanor in the face of danger and by his family as a God-fearing joker who toiled to make life better for the neediest of kids as a founding trustee of Children’s Hospital in Orange County.
“We used to say that there are bold demo men and there are old demo men, but there aren’t any old and bold demo men. Well, Dick proved us all wrong. He was old and bold and full of life until the day he died,” said retired Rear Adm. Garry Bonelli, a longtime friend. . .
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
What a hero! God Bless him for his service.
May he rest in well-deserved peace.
How did he become a Navy SEAL when they were first formed in 1962?
Without checking, he would have been a “frog man” in WWII and Korea—you must have seen them in the movies.
Later he either qualified or was grandfathered in to the SEALs.
In WWII it would have been UDT. But UDT had a different mission as I remember my history. I think (again relying on memory!) when the SEALs were formed it was from part of a UDT unit. The rest of the unit and UDT evolved into something else over time.
He was a UDT man. Here is his wiki page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Lyon_(U.S._Admiral)
The water spirits decreed it
He didn't retire until 1983, as a Rear Admiral. He was UDT when the SEALs were created, so he was pretty much the first SEAL, and wore the Trident. Serving longer than any other SEAL in his time, he earned the title “BullFrog 1”.
Have a great weekend.
My father was a Beachjumper. I believe he trained for a while with UDT folks at Fort Pierce, and I assume would have no public designation that he was other than UDT. (Even UDT was rather secretive at that point, I think.) So SEAL is sort of projecting back in time a bit, but they did similar sort of things. The theory and practice was still evolving.
Yes I agree!
RIP.
ping
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