Lieutenant (Junior Grade)
LEONARD ERNEST WALDROP
Pilot
Squadron VC-65
USS ST LO (CVE 63)

NAVY CROSS

THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY
Washington

The President of the United States takes pride in
Presenting the NAVY CROSS to

LEONARD ERNEST WALDROP, LIEUTENANT (Junior Grade)
UNITED STATES NAVAL RESERVE

for service as set forth in the following
CITATION:

                "For extraordinary heroism as Pilot of Torpedo Bomber in Composite Squadron Sixty-Five, attached to the U.S.S. St. Lo in action against enemy Japanese forces during the Battle for Leyte Gulf, October 25, 1944.  Flying in the face of intense antiaircraft fire which seriously damaged his plane, Lieutenant (then Lieutenant, Junior Grade,) Waldrop pressed home six attacks on an enemy cruiser without the support of other aircraft.  His courage and devotion to duty reflect the highest credit upon Lieutenant Waldrop and the United States Naval Service."

                                                                            For the President,

                                                                            /s/ James Forrestal

                                                                            Secretary of the Navy