POSTHUMOUS AWARD
Word has been received here that Eldridge Moon, chief torpedoman, who was killed during operations in the South Pacific Oct. 17, 1942, has been awarded the Purple Heart medal posthumously. Moon, a former Webster City resident, had been in the Navy for 20 of his 38 years. He went to San Diego, Cal. in 1925, but came back to Iowa as a recruiting officer at Cedar Rapids where he was stationed in 1939 prior to going to sea.
Edward Eldridge ‘Eldridge’ Moon was born in 1906 to Leon A. and Amanda Nordly Moon. He died Oct. 17, 1942 and is memorialized at the Manila American Cemetery, Fort Bonifacio, Manila, Philippines.
Chief Moon was serving aboard the U.S.S. Meredith (DD-434) which was sacrificed in an effort to resupply Marines during the darkest days of the Guadalcanal campaign. She was sunk in October 1942 with a loss of more than half her crew and that of tug Vireo. Chief Moon was declared missing in action; later declared killed in action. He was awarded the Purple Heart, American Campaign Medal, and World War II Victory Medal.
Sources:
ancestry.com
World War II Memorial
honor states.org
destroyerhistory.org
National Purple Heart Hall of Honor
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