Thomas Harold Riddle 6-28-1920 to 4-26-2008 Rest in peace.

[RB TexLa]

Harold Riddle, Democratic Party activist
By Mary Anne Ostrom
Mercury News


For two days, huddled in a swamp on the Pacific island of Guadalcanal, Harold Riddle held the head of a gravely injured comrade-in-arms just above the water line as they hid from Japanese soldiers during the fierce battle.

The soldier in his arms had already lost an eye and had a shoulder injury. The fellow Marine Mr. Riddle held for two days to keep from drowning wasn't just a wartime buddy: He was saving his own twin brother, Howard.

Howard and another brother, James, both came home from the war injured, but alive. And Harold, who also fought in the battles of Tarawa, Saipan and Tinian, went on to serve another two years, until the war's end.

Harold Riddle, longtime Palo Alto high school teacher and Santa Clara County Democratic Party activist from Campbell, died April 26 after a seven-month battle with prostate cancer. He was 87.

Though he did not speak much of his Guadalcanal ordeal, Mr. Riddle's daughter Judy Riddle-Skintauy said, "After surviving World War II and saving his brother, he told us, 'I will never have anything to complain about.' "

On returning home to his native California, where he grew up on a farm in the Stanislaus County town of Waterford, Mr. Riddle enrolled at San Jose State University. There he met a fellow teaching student, Loretta Mezza. After receiving their degrees and teaching credentials, they married in 1948. They would have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on August 14, 2008.

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