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Capt. Peter A. Love 63-64 I regret to inform you that Peter A. Love passed away suddenly on Friday 14 Feb. Services will be held at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetary at 3:00 p.m. on Friday 7 March, with a reception following at the San Diego Yacht Club. I will accept e-mails on Patsy's (Pete's wife) behalf at byrne1@cox.net P. J. Byrne |
| By Jack Williams
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER March 1, 2003 Early in his Marine Corps career, Peter Andersen Love developed the same passion for flying military aircraft that he had for swimming. During three tours of Vietnam, his helicopter assignments earned him a Distinguished Flying Cross, a Bronze Star with a combat V, an Air Medal and a Purple Heart. As a swimmer, he completed rough-water events in Maui and along the California coast. His love of the water led to a post-military job as a lifeguard on summer weekends in Solana Beach, where he worked into his 60s. On Feb. 13, Mr. Love took his daily swim, sans wet suit, as usual, at Kellogg's Beach in Point Loma. The next day, he was pronounced dead at UCSD Medical Center of cardiovascular disease, said his wife, Patricia. He was 73. "It was quite a shock to everybody," said George Bruser, a longtime friend and former aviator. After retiring from the Marine Corps as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1981, Mr. Love took his summer lifeguard job, commuting from his Point Loma home to Solana Beach in his trademark, green MGB-GT sports car. He also began a career as a naval warfare analyst for DynCorp, an information technology company. He retired in December 2001 but continued there as a consultant, a position he also held with the Center of Naval Analysis. Considered a leading strike warfare analyst, Mr. Love served the Atlantic and Pacific fleets and worked aboard the aircraft carrier Nimitz in January. As a team leader of a group of analysts, he observed more than 100 Navy and Marine Corps exercises at sea and ashore. The observations supported military officers in assessing the readiness of battle groups before overseas deployment. "They had a nickname for Pete at his workplace – The Senator," Bruser said. "Pete was a colorful guy. He could really dazzle you with words. He had an elegant way of expressing himself." Mr. Love attended law school at Stanford University in the 1950s with an eye on a legal career. Instead, he accepted a commission in the Marine Corps in June 1954. He received his wings as a naval aviator in 1956 and went on to serve as a pilot of jet aircraft and helicopters. His Vietnam tours, from 1960 to 1968, included an assignment at Do Xa Quang Ngai, a Viet Cong stronghold nestled in a valley at the foot of the Annamite Mountains. His role in the successful attack earned him the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry. Mr. Love, a Palo Alto native, moved with his family to Glendale when his father, a producer with NBC radio, was assigned to Los Angeles. As a teen-ager, he became a camp porter at Yosemite National Park, where he met his future wife, Patricia Flagerman. He graduated from Glendale High School in 1947 and from Whittier College in 1951 before entering law school. In the 1990s, while employed by DynCorp, he earned a master's degree in business at National University. In recent months, Mr. Love worked with Bruser in setting up reunion events for fighter squadron VMF-333, on which the two served in the 1950s in Opa Locka, Fla. Survivors include his wife of 49 years, Patricia; daughters, Sarah Love, Molly Love and Meg Felando, all of Point Loma; and four grandchildren. A memorial service is scheduled for 3 p.m. Friday at
Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma. Donations are suggested to
the Marine Corps Relief Society, Marine Corps Air Station, P.O. Box 45339,
San Diego, CA 92145-0339.
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