After the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, he left high school early to join the United States Marine Corps for World War II.[2] Riley served in the Pacific Theater and attained the rank of corporal.[2] On July 21, 1944, Riley was leading a rifle squad from Company L, 3rd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment in an assault against a Japanese machine gun emplacement on the island of Guam when he was severely wounded.[2] He was hospitalized for more than a year, and his wartime service left him with severe pain.[2] Riley’s left eye was removed, and he briefly had minimal light perception in his right eye, which soon dissipated.[1] During his post-military life, Riley learned Braille, used a walking stick, and relied on his wife and others to guide him when he walked.[1] Riley's Marine Corps unit was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, while Riley received the Purple Heart.[3]
While serving in the military, Riley had a minor role in the 1943 film Salute to the Marines.[4] He played the part of a hidden Japanese soldier who surprises the main characters, which required him to wear heavy camouflage makeup.[4]
Beginning in 1951, Riley taught courses in economics and political science at Little Rock University.[2] In 1957, he was appointed associate professor of history and political science at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.[2] Under his leadership, the political science faculty were organized as a separate department, of which he was appointed chairman.[2] A highly regarded instructor, Riley was promoted to full professor in 1958 and chaired the university's social science division from 1960 to 1974.[2]
Riley was elected to the Arkadelphia City Council in 1960, and he served until 1967; during his last two years, he was the city's mayor.[2] In 1968, he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention.[2] In 1970, Riley was elected lieutenant governor.[5] He was reelected in 1972 and served from 1971 to 1975.[2] In 1974, Riley was a candidate for the Democratic Party's nomination for governor; he was suffering from ill health and finished third in the primary, while the general election was won by David Pryor.[2] In January 1975, Governor Dale Bumpers resigned to accept the U.S. Senate seat to which he was elected in 1974; Riley served the last nine days of Bumpers' gubernatorial term, and was the nation's first blind governor.[6][7]
Personal
Riley continued to teach at Ouachita Baptist University until retiring in 1980.[2] He died in Arkadelphia on February 16, 1994.[2] He was buried at Rest Haven Memorial Gardens in Arkadelphia.[2]
Riley married Claudia Zimmerman in 1956.[2] Their daughter Megen was born in 1959.[2]
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