Eldon was a freshman at Northwestern State College in Alva Oklahoma when he heard the news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
He joined the Navy and reported for basic training in October, 1942 at the age of 19. Soon he found himself in aviation training to become a naval aviator.
Eldon had a long career in the Navy. He served in the Atlantic and the Pacific theaters of war on the USS Tarawa, CVA-40 during WWII. He served in various air groups including bombing squadrons. In fact one of his most memorable experiences actually happened during the Korean War. He had been called back to active duty like so many thousands of WWII veterans to fight in what is now called “The Forgotten War.” He had to ditch his dive bomber in the cold waters of the Pacific off the Japanese coast. Luckily he was picked up and survived the ditching.
He served in the Navy until 1965. During that time he was based at NAS Ellyson Field, Pensacola Florida, and was the senior officer at the US Naval Academy on a chemistry committee. He also did research and development on propulsion systems for missiles and space vehicles for NASA.
Eldon received many awards including several Air Medals for his service in WWII and Korea.
He was discharged after a great career on August 31, 1965 with the rank of LCDR.
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