One of the more notable memorials in St. John's cemetery is a simple marker for Mary Adelaide Wentworth Waldron, the daughter of George Parker and Blanche Wentworth Sr. She happened to be the cousin of one of the state’s most notable historians Theodore Thomas Wentworth, Jr. (T. T. Wentworth). She was also the wife of LCDR John Charles Waldron who was the commanding officer of Torpedo Squadron #8 aboard the carrier USS Hornet. He was born on August 21, 1900 in Ft. Pierre, South Dakota, the son of Charles Westbrook Waldron and Jane Elizabeth Van Metre. After his preliminary education, John entered the Naval Academy at Annapolis, graduating in 1924. He entered the Navy’s flight training program at NAS Pensacola, receiving his wings in 1927.
During his tour of duty in Pensacola he met, courted and married the lovely Miss Adelaide Wentworth in Santa Rosa County in 1927. She was born in Pensacola on October 7, 1906, the daughter of George Parker Sr. and Anna Blanche Guttman Wentworth. The family home was in the prestigious North Hill section of the city at 821 North Barcelona Street. This alone bespoke of the family’s prestigious position in Pensacola society. The patriarch of the family was her grandfather George E. Wentworth who had come to Pensacola in 1871 from Massachusetts. He was a veteran of the Union Army during the Civil War and was looking for business opportunities. Adelaide was a member of the Pensacola High School Class of 1925 while her brother George Jr. would follow her in 1929. Her family was very influential in the city’s social and business circles and now Adelaide was marrying a member of the Navy’s fledgling air force. But the family adjusted to her decision, as Adelaide settled down to the humdrum life of a career Navy wife.
Now her nation was at war and her husband was flying in harm's way! But you can't strike an enemy if you don't know where they are! Before he took off from the Hornet, Waldron became involved in an argument with his air group commander and the ship’s commanding officer Admiral Marc Mitscher. The last report placed the Japanese southwest of the Hornet, but Waldron was being ordered to head due west. Waldron felt strongly that they should fly southwest since that was where the last report placed them. He was overruled. But once he and his squadron were aloft, Waldron made a command decision and separated from the group and took his squadron southwest straight to the Japanese carrier group.
This one man’s decision determined the fate of his entire nation and a global war. At 0920, Waldron sighted the enemy fleet and radioed their correct location back to his carrier. He then ordered his torpedo squadron to drop into attack formation and commenced his run on the selected targets. With no fighter escort above, he and every one of his men were shot down and killed by antiaircraft fire or by the much faster and highly maneuverable Zero’s. Although shot down, Ensign George Gay Jr. would survive the crash to become the only survivor of the famed squadron. He watched the entire battle while bobbing on the ocean’s surface, hiding under his floating seat cushion. Although they inflicted absolutely no damage upon their enemy, VT-8's heroic deed spelled doom for the pride of the Japanese Fleet. Their unexpected attack had completely interrupted flight operations aboard the enemy carriers. Now the Japanese air cover was forced to descend to wave top height to dispose of the American torpedo planes.
This meant that when the US dive bombers finally arrived there were no enemy fighters to oppose them. And chasing the torpedo planes had left the Zero’s with no remaining fuel and ammunition to meet the new threat from the incoming American dive bombers. The result was four enemy carriers sent to bottom of the Pacific along with their planes and pilots. LCDR Waldron would receive the Navy Cross and a Purple Heart plus a memorial next to Adelaide that states "In Memoriam LCDR John C. Waldron - Killed Battle of Midway June 4, 1942."
LCDR John Charles Waldron right, CO \
of Torpedo Squadron #8, USS Hornet
LCDR John C. Waldron on the right with his gunner
LCDR John C. Waldron taking off from the USS Hornet 1942
Japanese carrier Kaga sinking, Battle of Midway, June 4, 1942
John Charles Waldron's memorial in St. John's Cemetery