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 is 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 232,225 (2020 figure ...

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

Early life

Born in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

. Waldor graduated from

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, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school is operated by th ...

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 him becoming an attorney and politician, he served in the Air Force as the First Lieutenant and also 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 Carswel ...

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 ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. 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 desi ...

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, He 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 later became 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 disorder that develops from experiencing a Psychological trauma, traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster ...

caused by 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 is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

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 ...

. 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, right-wing populist, and ...

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

References

Politicians 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 American expatriates in India American military personnel of World War II 20th-century members of the New Jersey Legislature {{NewJersey-politician-stub