He was the son of Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, who was killed on the bridge of the battleship Arizona during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

In 1978 Kidd was among a number of retired four-star officers who testified before Congress in favor of the controversial SALT II arms control pact.

"[1] During World War II he served as a gunnery and operations officer on destroyers in both Europe and the Pacific, and participated in various Allied landings in the Mediterranean as well as at Iwo Jima.

In 1967, he was chosen by his friend and colleague Admiral John S. McCain Jr. to head the Naval Court of Inquiry into the USS Liberty incident during the Six-Day War in June of that year.

Kidd declared that while he was not entirely thrilled with the proposed treaty's verification procedures, "the alternative of having no ceiling at all, considering our position at this point in the so-called race, I find totally unacceptable."