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Adelbert Waldron

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Adelbert Francis Waldron III
Nickname(s)"Bert"
Born(1933-03-14)March 14, 1933
Syracuse, New York, U.S.
DiedOctober 18, 1995(1995-10-18) (aged 62)
Riverside, California, U.S.
Buried
Allegiance United States of America
Service / branch United States Navy
 United States Army
Years of service1953–1965 (U.S. Navy)
1968–1970 (U.S. Army)
RankStaff sergeant
Unit9th Infantry Division, United States Army Marksmanship Unit
Battles / warsVietnam War
AwardsDistinguished Service Cross (2)
Silver Star
Bronze Star (3)
Presidential Unit Citation

Adelbert Francis "Bert" Waldron III (March 14, 1933 – October 18, 1995) was a United States Army sniper who served during the Vietnam War with the 9th Infantry Division. Until 2011, Waldron held the record for most confirmed kills by any American sniper (109 confirmed kills).[1][2]

Early life

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Adelbert was born March 14, 1933, to Adelbert Francis Waldron Jr. (1910–1966), a parking lot operator, detective agency employee, fireman and school bus driver, and Virginia M. Searle (1914–1979), in Syracuse. He had two sisters.[3]

Career

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Prior to his time in the Army, Waldron spent 12 years in the US Navy. As a member of the 9th Infantry Division, he was assigned to PBR boats patrolling the Mekong Delta, at one point making a confirmed kill from a moving boat at 900 yards. He set his record of 109 kills in just 8 months. After leaving Vietnam he was assigned as a marksmanship instructor at Ft. Benning, GA but left the Army in 1970.

Waldron was one of the few two-time recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross, both awarded for separate actions in 1969. In addition to these he was awarded a Silver Star, multiple Bronze Stars, and a Presidential Unit Citation.[4][5]

Waldron is buried in Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California.[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Fredriksen 2010, p. 306
  2. ^ snipercentral.com (2010). "The Sniper Log Book". snipercentral.com. Archived from the original on 2 May 2010. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
  3. ^ "Adelbert Waldron", Post Standard, Syracuse, New York, US 27 December 1966, p.9
  4. ^ Kirchner 2009, pp. Contains a long chapter revealing little known details of Waldron's life.
  5. ^ "MilitaryTimes Hall of Valor: Adelbert F. Waldron". Archived from the original on 2014-01-02. Retrieved 2013-05-18.
  6. ^ Together We Served
  7. ^ Buiso, Gray (January 1, 2012). "Meet the big shot – SEAL is America's deadliest sniper". New York Post. Retrieved 2012-01-03.

Bibliography

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