George W. Aldridge, Jr. – Colonel, United States Army

From a contemporary press report:

George W. Aldridge, Jr., 69, who was a combat veteran of three wars, died of cancer March 16, 1994 at home in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

Colonel Aldridge was commissioned in the Infantry in the early 1950s, and had entered the Army in 1941. He was serving in the U.S. First Infantry Division when it landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

He was stationed in Japan when the Korean War broke out. He was with the First Cavalry Division when it was deployed to Korea in July 1950 with the first U.S. troops to reinforce U.S. and South Korean forces.

In 1962, he commanded a helicopter company in South Vietnam's Central Highlands. He was a Master Army Aviator.

His last assignment, before retirement from active duty in 1971, was as the Army Operations Center Director on the staff of the Army Chief of Staff For Operations.

His medals included the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star, two awards of Legion of Merit and ten Air Medals. He was a life member of the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans and Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Colonel Aldridge was born in Queenstown, Maryland, and was a graduate of the University of Nebraska and the Army C&GS College at Ft Leavenworth, Kansas. He was a county administrator and planner for Queen Anne'sCounty, Maryland, from 1971 to 1976, then was manager of the Aspens Institute at Wye Plantation, Maryland, from 1977 to 1979. He then managed a ranch in Colorado and lived in Texas before returning to the Washington, DC area about 1987.

His marriages to Heather S. Allen and Joan H. Fleming both ended in divorce.

Survivors include a son from his first marriage, Army Colonel George W. Aldridge III of Ft Riley, Kansas, and a grandson. Services will be held at the Fort Myer Chapel Wednesday, March 23, 1994 at 9 am with internment in Arlington National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Montgomery County Hospice, Rockville, Maryland.

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