Major Rudolph Anderson Memorial Photograph by Willie Harper

Major Rudolph Anderson Memorial

by Willie Harper

Canvas Print

Framed Print

Art Print

Poster

Metal Print

Acrylic Print

Wood Print

Greeting Card

Title

Major Rudolph Anderson Memorial

Artist

Willie Harper

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Rudolf Anderson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Major Rudolf Anderson, USAF
Born September 15, 1927
Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.
Died October 27, 1962 (aged 35)
Near Banes, Cuba
Buried Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.
Allegiance United States of America
Years of service 1948–1962

Battles/wars Korean War
Cuban Missile Crisis †

Rudolf Anderson Jr. (September 15, 1927 – October 27, 1962), was a pilot and commissioned officer in the United States Air Force and the first recipient of the Air Force Cross, the U.S. Air Force's second-highest award for heroism. The only person killed by enemy fire during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Anderson died when his U-2 spy aircraft was shot down over Cuba.

Anderson was born September 15, 1927, in Greenville, South Carolina. He earned the rank of Eagle Scout from Greenville's Boy Scout Troop 19, graduated from Greenville High School and from Clemson University as a member of Air Force ROTC Detachment 770,[1] in 1948.[2] Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, he completed Primary and Advanced pilot training and received his U.S. Air Force aeronautical rating as a pilot. He began his operational career flying RF-86 Sabres and earned two Distinguished Flying Crosses for reconnaissance missions during the Korean War. After qualifying on the U-2 on September 3, 1957, "he became the 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing's top U-2 pilot with over one thousand hours, making him a vital part of the United States' reconnaissance operation over Cuba in late October of 1962."[3]

On October 27, Anderson took off in a U-2F (AF Serial Number 56-6676, former CIA Article 343) from a forward operating location at McCoy Air Force Base in Orlando, Florida. A few hours into his mission, he was shot down by a Soviet-supplied S-75 Dvina (NATO designation SA-2 Guideline) surface-to-air missile near Banes, Cuba. "The loss of the U-2 over Banes was probably caused by intercept by an SA-2 from the Banes site, or pilot hypoxia, with the former appearing more likely on the basis of present information," stated a CIA document dated 0200 hrs, October 28, 1962.[4][5] Anderson was killed when shrapnel from the exploding proximity warhead punctured his pressure suit, causing it to decompress at high altitude.

On October 31, Acting United Nations Secretary U Thant returned from a visit with Premier Fidel Castro and announced that Anderson was dead.[citation needed]

By order of President John F. Kennedy, Anderson was posthumously awarded the first Air Force Cross, as well as the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, the Purple Heart, and the Cheney Award.

After the Cuban Missile Crisis ended, Anderson's body was returned to the United States and interred in Greenville on November 6, 1962 at Woodlawn Memorial Park.[10]

A memorial to Anderson was erected in 1963 at Cleveland Park in Greenville. No surplus U-2 aircraft were available at the time, so an F-86 Sabre like the ones he flew in Korea was used instead: North American YF-86H-1-NA Sabre, AF Ser. No. 52-1976.[11]

The memorial was redesigned, and it was rededicated on October 27, 2012, the 50th anniversary of Anderson's death.[12]

The auditorium for the 47th Operations Group at Laughlin AFB, Texas, is named in his honor.

The Maj. Rudolf Anderson Jr. Squadron of the Arnold Air Society at Clemson University is named in his honor.