William B. Waldrop served in the U.S. Navy as a Lieutenant Junior Grade during World War II. A Naval Aviator and Pilot of a patrol bomber PBY (a flying boat and amphibious aircraft), he was killed on January 17, 1943, when the plane crashed in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, immediately taking off to cover a convoy during invasion of North Africa. He received several commendations and citations for meritorious service in submarine warfare in the South Atlantic, 1942.
