Adelbert Waldron

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]

Adelbert Francis Waldron III
Nickname(s)	"Bert"
Born	(1933-03-14)March 14, 1933 Syracuse, New York, U.S.
Died	October 18, 1995(1995-10-18) (aged 62) Riverside, California, U.S.
Buried	Riverside National Cemetery, Riverside, California, U.S.
Allegiance	United States of America
Branch	United States Navy  United States Army
Years of service	1953–1965 (U.S. Navy) 1968–1970 (U.S. Army)
Rank	Staff sergeant
Unit	9th Infantry Division, United States Army Marksmanship Unit
Battles / wars	Vietnam War
Awards	Distinguished Service Cross (2) Silver Star Bronze Star (3) Presidential Unit Citation

Early life

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

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]