Meredith "Rip" Riddle was taken aback when the U.S. Navy put him in charge
of his first ship in 1942.
Unlike many World War II warships, it was not a heavy-metal battleship or
destroyer.
Instead, the 27-year-old Riddle was put in command of a wooden sailing
schooner, the USS Echo, whose mission was to place coastal watchers behind
enemy lines in the South Pacific.
None of the ship's 15 crew members knew how to sail, and when the ship
landed, Riddle shared command with a major in the U.S. Army, which owned the
ship.
He later wrote about his misadventures, and the tale was turned into the
1960 film comedy "The Wackiest Ship in The Army," starring Jack Lemmon.
"He was so surprised when a dockworker pointed out the Echo for the first
time. He was looking for a Navy ship and here was this sailing vessel. He
was in shock for quite a while," said Bunny Riddle, Rip Riddle's wife of
nearly 63 years.
Riddle, a longtime Portlock resident, died Nov. 29 of kidney and heart
failure at Straub Clinic & Hospital. He was 92.
A native of Shelbyville, Tenn., Riddle served in the Navy for more than 30
years and commanded six different ships, including the Echo.
He also served as the chief engineering officer of the aircraft carrier USS
Kearsarge, where he headed a staff of 600 men and 18 officers.
After retiring from the Navy in 1964, Riddle joined Dillingham Corp. and
worked in the company's maritime division. He became president of Dillingham
Maritime in 1973 and served as the shipping company's chairman from 1976 to
1981.
"Rip was just a fine gentleman and a nice person to work with," said former
Bishop Trust Co. Chief Executive Officer Ed Carter, a longtime friend who
worked with Riddle at Dillingham during the 1970s and 1980s.
"I couldn't say enough good things about Rip. He was one of those good
people who you were blessed to have known."
Daughter Lo Kaimuloa said her father was well-known for his storytelling.
Once, after a hurricane on one of the Pacific islands, the Echo rescued
several fishermen whose canoes were blown more than 100 miles away from
their villages and were given up for dead by their families, Kaimuloa said.
On their return, the ship was greeted by about 1,000 villagers in canoes.
But Kaimuloa said her father and other crew members had to fend off many of
the well-wishers who had attempted to climb onto the boat because the
celebration was attracting the attention of nearby Japanese planes.
"He had some interesting war experiences and he was well respected by many
of the chiefs in that part of the world," said Chuck Swanson, longtime
friend and former president of Dillingham Maritime and Young Brothers Ltd.
