Milton A. Waldor (September 28, 1924 – August 20, 1975) was an American Republican Party politician who served in the

New Jersey State Senate The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232, ...

from 1968 to 1972, representing Essex County in the 11th Legislative District.

Early life

Born in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Weequahic High School Weequahic High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades, located in the Weequahic section of Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. The school is operated by the Newar ...

and

Rutgers Law School Rutgers Law School is the law school of Rutgers University, with classrooms in Newark and Camden, New Jersey. It is the largest public law school and the 10th largest law school, overall, in the United States. Each class in the three-year J.D. pr ...

. Prior to his becoming an attorney and politician, he had served in the Air Force as First Lieutenant. As such, Waldor was bombardier in the

Tenth Air Force The Tenth Air Force (10 AF) is a unit of the U.S. Air Force, specifically a numbered air force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). 10 AF is headquartered at Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base/Carswell Field (formerly Carswell AF ...

in the

China Burma India Theater China Burma India Theater (CBI) was the United States military designation during World War II for the China and Southeast Asian or India–Burma (IBT) theaters. Operational command of Allied forces (including U.S. forces) in the CBI was officia ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Waldor flew on 68 arduous missions bombing the Japanese installations in captured Burma. Many times his

B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

was the target for enemy fighter planes and anti-aircraft guns. Flying the China-Burma-India hump was always an extremely dangerous mission. For his bravery in action, Waldor was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Nationalist China Award and other American medals. On his many missions he met and became friendly with General Claire Chennault, the leader of the Flying Tigers, who was later to become the commander of the U.S. Air Force in China. When Waldor left the Air Force to return to civilian life, he was a captain. He married and divorced shortly thereafter in the context of rumored domestic violence and undiagnosed

post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...

following from his active combat experience.

Elected office

An attorney from West Orange, Waldor was elected to the State Senate in 1967. He lost a bid for re-election to a second term in 1971. In 1972, he ran for the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

New Jersey's 11th congressional district New Jersey's 11th congressional district is a suburban district in northern New Jersey. The district includes portions of Essex, Morris, and Passaic Counties; it is centered in Morris County. The 11th congressional district, along with the 12 ...

, but lost to incumbent Democrat

Joseph Minish Joseph George Minish (September 1, 1916 – November 24, 2007) was an American Democratic Party politician from New Jersey who represented in the United States House of Representatives. Early life Born in Throop, Pennsylvania, Minish was t ...

. He authored the book ''Peddlers of Fear'' that described the dangers of the extreme right that had been embodied by the

John Birch Society The John Birch Society (JBS) is an American right-wing political advocacy group. Founded in 1958, it is anti-communist, supports social conservatism, and is associated with ultraconservative, radical right, far-right, or libertarian ideas. T ...

in the early 1960s.Waldor M (1966). Peddlers of Fear: The John Birch Society. Newark, NJ: Lynnross Publishing Co.

References

People from Newark, New Jersey People from West Orange, New Jersey Politicians from Essex County, New Jersey Republican Party New Jersey state senators Rutgers Law School alumni Weequahic High School alumni 1924 births 1975 deaths 20th-century American politicians American expatriates in India American military personnel of World War II {{NewJersey-politician-stub