Maj. Rudolf Anderson: The Cuban Missile Crisis
Maj. Rudolf Anderson
The Cuban missile crisis was a very tough moment for the United States government and the Russian government as well. One moment out of all these important moments seems to stand out more than any other. Yet the American people still seem to have no clue who this person is, and what they did to save the world. Amazingly during all this havoc/chaos only one person was killed in the line of enemy fire and that was Rudolf Anderson. “Rudolf Anderson was a pilot and officer in the United States Air Force and the first recipient of the Air Force Cross”, (1). While on a mission flying over Cuba during the Russian invasion he was shot down by “SS-4 medium range ballistic missiles” (2) He died immediately upon impact. After …show more content…
He also attended high school in Greenville and graduated there as well. “From high school he went to Clemson University and graduated as a member of the Air Force ROTC Detachment 770” (1) “While at Clemson University he earned a major of Textile Management. He also played football, basketball and softball at Clemson” (2) The one thing that Maj, Rudolf Anderson is most known for is his tragic death. Although he was the only casualty during the Cuban Missile Crisis his death may have saved the whole world. Like I mentioned earlier Rudolf stepped up in a moment when no one would; and he had the courage to fly that plane over Cuba knowing that he could have been shot …show more content…
A memorial was made for him in Cleveland Park, the idea was to put a U-2 aircraft over his memorial but since there were no surplus U-2 aircraft available at that time they instead used an F-86 sabre like the ones he flew in Korea; each late October a memorial service is held. Also, the auditorium of the 47th operations group (Air Force flying group) is named in his honor as well. Some wreckage from Major Andersons aircraft is actually displayed in 3 museums over Cuba, there is also a movie portraying the shooting down of Anderson in “Thirteen Days” Anderson is portrayed by Chip Esten.”
The Cuban missile crisis was a very tough moment for the United States government and the Russian government as well. One moment out of all these important moments seems to stand out more than any other. Yet the American people still seem to have no clue who this person is, and what they did to save the world. Amazingly during all this havoc/chaos only one person was killed in the line of enemy fire and that was Rudolf Anderson. “Rudolf Anderson was a pilot and officer in the United States Air Force and the first recipient of the Air Force Cross”, (1). While on a mission flying over Cuba during the Russian invasion he was shot down by “SS-4 medium range ballistic missiles” (2) He died immediately upon impact. After …show more content…
He also attended high school in Greenville and graduated there as well. “From high school he went to Clemson University and graduated as a member of the Air Force ROTC Detachment 770” (1) “While at Clemson University he earned a major of Textile Management. He also played football, basketball and softball at Clemson” (2) The one thing that Maj, Rudolf Anderson is most known for is his tragic death. Although he was the only casualty during the Cuban Missile Crisis his death may have saved the whole world. Like I mentioned earlier Rudolf stepped up in a moment when no one would; and he had the courage to fly that plane over Cuba knowing that he could have been shot …show more content…
A memorial was made for him in Cleveland Park, the idea was to put a U-2 aircraft over his memorial but since there were no surplus U-2 aircraft available at that time they instead used an F-86 sabre like the ones he flew in Korea; each late October a memorial service is held. Also, the auditorium of the 47th operations group (Air Force flying group) is named in his honor as well. Some wreckage from Major Andersons aircraft is actually displayed in 3 museums over Cuba, there is also a movie portraying the shooting down of Anderson in “Thirteen Days” Anderson is portrayed by Chip Esten.”