September 27, 2009
The Virginian-Pilot

Capt. Pete Wikul last saw his father at the age of 8, on a street corner in his native Harlem.

"He was a heroin addict," Wikul said Friday. "It was on West 140th Street. Either the cops or the Mafia came for him. I was never sure which."

Wikul bounced from place to place after that, attending 12 schools by 12th grade. When he turned 18 he wanted to go to Vietnam, so he joined the Navy.

That was 39-plus years ago. In a colorful retirement ceremony in a hangar bay at Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base, Wikul was symbolically piped ashore after relinquishing his unofficial title as the "Bull Frog" -- the longest-serving active-duty member of the Navy's elite community of SEAL commandos.

Military 'Bull Frog' Hops Into Retirement

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