Posted by Ronald Bessonette on September 1, 2012:

Nothing has been said about Pete's further career in football after leaving West Point. I had the luck of playing with Pete when he came to Fort Bragg the season of 1957. Service football was of a caliber of any college team as so many players were subject to the draft after college. Our team captain that year was Elmer May, all american center from Iowa. Pete always had a great sense of humor that would surface during the toughest of times in a game. That special glint in his eye would never fade. To Wit: After dropping one of his passes. (In the huddle) Bessonette, I throw the ball... you catch it... got that? After muffing a pitchout, still in the thick of the action, I yelled at Pete to grab the ball that was rolling loose on the ground. He suddenly stopped, looked at me and yelled back. "What for.. YOU dropped it!!" One more: Once when he threw a very rare wild ball that got completely away from him and flew into the grandstands, he ran up to me (a wide receiver) and asked with a frantic look... "Have you seen the ball? I threw it, but, I'm not sure where it went." Pete also was a guiding light to many of us young servicemen who depended on our officers for direction and an example of how to live.. Hey Pete... "You throw the ball.. I catch it!! Got that?" (I'm learning)

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