John Eldridge, Jr.

Lieutenant Commander John Eldridge, Jr., USN (10 October 1903 – 2 November 1942) was a United States Navy officer who received the Navy Cross posthumously for his role in the U.S. invasion of the Solomon Islands during World War II.

Biography
Eldridge was born in Buckingham County, Virginia, and graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1927. After flight training at Pensacola, Florida, he served at various stations on aviation duty. From 11 September 1941 he was Commander, Scouting Squadron 71, attached to Wasp (CV-7). LCDR Eldridge was killed in action in the Solomon Islands on 2 November 1942. For his extraordinary heroism in leading the air attack on Japanese positions in the initial invasion of the Solomons on 7 August and 8 August 1942, he was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.

Namesake
The destroyer escort USS Eldridge (DE-173) was named in his honor.