Adelbert Waldron

[173rdLRRP]

Was an assistant team leader and then a team leader with 173rd ABN BDE LRRP 1966-67. Normal engagement was 3 to 25 m. One engagement was initiated by Larry Cole at 1 m. Larry wanted the guy to get the guy to surrender but he, Captain Li van Hua from the papers we brought back, demurred. He was hit by automatic fire from Larry and Roger. As our ATL noted, Roger could have shaken hands.

I was in Kwajalein in 1991 on a project. We needed some machining done to get instrumentation mounted on a tracking platform. I was wearing an LRRP shirt which the machinist liked it.

He said he had worked with some with 9 ID LRRP in Mekong Delta where he had been a sniper and introduced himself as Adelbert Waldron. I had never heard of him before. We talked for 3 hours. I commented on his cap and he gave it to me. I noted this on two threads on Waldron.

I did not find out who he was and what he had done until I returned to
Mainland. 109 probables, two Distinguished Service Crosses, and a Silver Star. I believer there were only two or three DSCs with olc presented during entire RVN War.

There is almost no information on him since he was very reticent and refused to give interrviews. I apparently just ran into him when he was in an expansive mood. I am sure this was Waldron since he was unknown even then. All I could discover beyond a few paragraphs on his activity in RVN was that he died only a few years after I met him.

Does anyone have any further information on his life.

 

[RTH1800]

Look up Mitchell Werbell III.
He (Waldron) had 109 confirmed iirc.

 

[173rdLRRP]

I am only interested in the guy I met.

I asked Waldron what is a confirmed sniper kill. He said there was no such thing. He said that the shooter fires and spotter sees guy drop. There is no way of telling if target ducked , was wounded, or was killed. A shot at 500 m is a half second or 4’ drop and one at 1000 m is a 16’ drop.

MI (Military Intelligence) interest is only in reduction of enemy effectives. They are the arbiters. Confirmed means combat engineers dug a ditch, bodies were put in it, and then covered with 6’ of dirt.

CSM Pat Tadina (dec) is credited with 116 CQK. His six man team recovered over 80 weapons and documents.these were considered almost confirmed: put your foot on body, someone else put confirming rounds into body at close quarter range so that pieces are seen breaking off, or body blown off ground by high explosive. Anything else is a possible or probable. MI never explained difference.

Attached is photo of Tad: 8 BSMV, two SS, and several PH in five years of patrolling. Original TL of team 4 was Jakovenko with 30-40 CQK (probable) with M60 on Son Tay Raid at flash burn range, then I, then Tad, followed by Lazslo Rabel who was KIA in 28th month and about 40 probable CQK. His wife received MOH from President Johnson. These three were warriors. The rest of us were just taking up space.

 

[RTH1800]

If you are interested in Waldron look up Werbell. That is where you will find the information.

I think you have another goal.

 

[173rdLRRP]

.
I read the thread on WerBell. He sounds very contradictory. Hard to tell what is real and what is fiction.

Ok, why did one commentator on thread state that Waldron was poorly thought of.

How did WeBell get Waldron sent to prison. Never heard of this either.

 

[173rdLRRP]

How could a guy, Waldrop, who is one of only three in entire RVN War get a second award of DSC for that war be poorly thought of. Most people that get DSC get it posthumously. There were only 1060 awarded in entire war. One I knew got it posthumously. The other took two 7.62x25 mm subgun rounds through lungs and liver.

 

[McCrazy]

The only "bad" thing I ever heard about Waldron was that he was basically ferried around to bases with high enemy activity in the surounding areas and shot them. This helped him rack up a lot of kills in a relatively short amount of time from fairly safe areas.

This compared to Hathcock who actually went on patrol for days at a time, stalked, and waited to catch his prey usually from within enemy areas.

In this regard, Waldron was more of a designated marksman than what most would truly consider a sniper.

Hard to argue with his effectiveness though.

 

[Jeff Campbell]

Hey 173rd LRRP i sent u a pm

 

[sinister]

Here's part of the official record on Bert Waldron -- go to page 123:

Waldron mention

Jake Jakovenko is a living legend, and one of the Son Tay Raiders.

... at the 50th Anniversary of the Son Tay Raid. Troy Manufacturing presented each surviving Son Tay Raider a commemorative XM-177:

Jake front row, left as looking at them, with M-60:

Seen above (back row) are Neal Westbrook, Colonel USAF, Ret. Son Tay Raider (Lime 2); Terry Buckler, Sergeant, USA Son Tay Raider (Red Wine); Vladimir “Jake” Jakovenko, Sergeant Major, USA Ret.; Son Tay Raider (Green Leaf) John Gargus, Colonel, USAF, Ret.; Son Tay Raider (Cherry 2) Tyrone Adderly, Sergeant Major, USA Ret. Son Tay Raider (Red Wine)

 

[RTH1800]

Lot of negative stuff floating around. Doubt anyone figures it out now.

 

[173rdLRRP]

The only "bad" thing I ever heard about Waldron was that he was basically ferried around to bases with high enemy activity in the surounding areas and shot them. This helped him rack up a lot of kills in a relatively short amount of time from fairly safe areas.

This compared to Hathcock who actually went on patrol for days at a time, stalked, and waited to catch his prey usually from within enemy areas.

In this regard, Waldron was more of a designated marksman than what most would truly consider a sniper.

Hard to argue with his effectiveness though.

Waldron told me that he was moved to base camps that came under fire to ameliorate the problems.

I fail to see why this makes him a marksman rather than a sniper