Rudolf Anderson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Major Rudolf Anderson, Jr. (September 15, 1927 – October 27, 1962) was a pilot and officer in the United States Air Force, and the first recipient of the Air Force Cross. Anderson was born in Greenville, South Carolina and graduated from Clemson University in 1948. He was shot down over Cuba on October 27, 1962, while flying a U-2 spyplane (see Lockheed U-2) during The Cuban Missile Crisis.
Originally flown by the CIA, the USAF took over the U-2 Cuba overflight missions on October 14th. The first flight was by Maj. Richard S. Heyser of the Strategic Air Command's 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing from Laughlin Air Force Base (Del Rio, Texas).
On October 15th as CIA analysts pored over Heyser’s reconnaissance film, they found SS-4 medium-range ballistic missiles. These pictures triggered the Cuban Missile Crisis. On October 27, Major Anderson took off in his U-2 from McCoy Air Force Base, Orlando, Florida, and was shot down by a Soviet-supplied S-75 Dvina surface-to-air missile (SAM Site) near Banes, Cuba. Anderson was killed when shrapnel punctured his pressure suit causing it to decompress at high altitude. On October 31, Acting United Nations Secretary U Thant, returning from a visit with Premier Fidel Castro, announced that Major Anderson was dead. His body was returned to the United States, and he was interred in Greenville on November 6, 1962. Anderson was the only casualty as a result of enemy fire in this crisis.
By order of President John F. Kennedy Major Anderson was posthumously awarded the first Air Force Cross as well as the Distinguished Service Medal, Purple Heart and the Cheney Award. Every year a memorial service is held in his honor.
Some of the wreckage of Major Anderson's U-2 can be found in two museums in Havana, Cuba. The engine and portion of the tail assembly from the U-2 is on display at the Museum of the Revolution in Havana. The right wing, a portion of the tail assembly, and front landing gear are on display at the Museo del Aire, also in Havana. One of the engine intakes is visible at the Playa Giron Museum in Giron.
A Memorial to Major Anderson can be seen at Cleveland Park in Greenville, SC. The Memorial consists of an F-86 Sabre, the type of plane Major Anderson flew in the Korean War. The F-86 was used for the Memorial because there were no surplus U-2 planes available at the time when it was erected in the 1960s. In 2007 a team from Lockheed Martin traveled to Greenville to clean and repaint the Memorial.
A campaign is ongoing to award MAJ Rudolf Anderson, Jr. the Medal of Honor.
The shooting down of his reconnaissance flight over Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis is featured in the film Thirteen Days, with Chip Esten playing the role of Major Anderson.
[edit] Reference
- Central Intelligence Agency report - supplement 8 to Joint Evaluation of Soviet Missile Threat In Cuba, 0200 hours, 28 October 1962.
