# Albert W. Waldron

Major General Albert Whitney Waldron (January 13, 1892 – June 21, 1961) was a United States Army officer who served during World War II. He briefly replaced Major General Edwin F. Harding as the commander of the 32nd Infantry Division during the Battle of Buna–Gona and was wounded in the shoulder on 5 December 1942 after being shot by a sniper. He received the Distinguished Service Cross and the Army Distinguished Service Medal for his actions during the war.

## Early military career

Albert Whitney Waldron was born on January 13, 1892, in Rochester, New York. He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1911 and graduated four years later as a part of "the class the stars fell on" (59 members of this class became general officers during World War II). For example: Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, James Van Fleet, Henry Aurand, Stafford LeRoy Irwin, Paul J. Mueller, John W. Leonard, William E. R. Covell, Henry Aurand, Joseph T. McNarney, Roscoe B. Woodruff, Joseph May Swing, A. Arnim White, Thomas B. Larkin, and others. Waldron was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Field Artillery Branch of the United States Army on June 12, 1915.
His first military assignment was with the 4th Field Artillery Regiment stationed at Texas City, Texas. His unit was subsequently transferred to the Brownsville, Texas, where he served until March 1916, when he participated in Pancho Villa Expedition. After seven months of service in Mexico, Waldron, promoted on July 1 to first lieutenant, returned to the United States in October 1916 and was stationed at Eagle Pass, Texas.
He was promoted to captain on May 15, 1917, over a month after the American entry into World War I, and transferred to the 7th Field Artillery Regiment in July, which soon departed the United States for service on the Western Front, where Waldron would remain for the rest of the war.

## Decorations

Here is Major General Albert W. Waldron´s ribbon bar:
| 1st Row | Distinguished Service Cross | Distinguished Service Cross | Distinguished Service Cross | Distinguished Service Cross | Distinguished Service Cross | Army Distinguished Service Medal | Army Distinguished Service Medal | Army Distinguished Service Medal | Army Distinguished Service Medal | Army Distinguished Service Medal | Army Distinguished Service Medal | Purple Heart | Purple Heart | Purple Heart | Purple Heart | Purple Heart |
| 2nd Row | Mexican Service Medal | Mexican Service Medal | Mexican Service Medal | Mexican Service Medal | World War I Victory Medal with four Battle Clasps | World War I Victory Medal with four Battle Clasps | World War I Victory Medal with four Battle Clasps | World War I Victory Medal with four Battle Clasps | Army of Occupation of Germany Medal | Army of Occupation of Germany Medal | Army of Occupation of Germany Medal | Army of Occupation of Germany Medal | American Defense Service Medal | American Defense Service Medal | American Defense Service Medal | American Defense Service Medal |
| 3rd Row | Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two service stars | Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two service stars | Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two service stars | Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two service stars | American Campaign Medal | American Campaign Medal | American Campaign Medal | American Campaign Medal | World War II Victory Medal | World War II Victory Medal | World War II Victory Medal | World War II Victory Medal | French Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 with Palm | French Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 with Palm | French Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 with Palm | French Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 with Palm |