Major Rudolf Anderson, Jr.
(Sept. 15, 1927 – Oct. 27, 1962)
The 1st recipient of the
Air Force Cross.
Born in Greenville, SC. and graduated from Clemson University in 1948.

On Oct. 27, Anderson took off from McCoy AFB, Orlando, Florida,
and was shot down by a Soviet SA-2 near Banes, Cuba.
Shrapnel apparently punctured his pressure suit causing it to decompress
at altitude. On Oct. 31, acting UN Secretary U Thant, returned from
a visit with Premier Fidel Castro, and announced that Anderson was dead.
His body was returned to the U.S., and he was interred in Greenville on Nov. 6, 1962.

The U-2's engine and part of the tail assembly are on display at the
Museo de la Revolucion in Havana. The right wing, part of the
tail fin, and landing gear are on display at the Museo del Aire..

By order of President Kennedy, Major Anderson was posthumously awarded
the Air Force Cross as well as the Distinguished Service Medal, Purple Heart
and the Cheney Award. As a side note, Anderson was a member
of Boy Scout Troop 19 of Greenville, South Carolina.

There is a Memorial to Anderson at Cleveland Park in Greenville, SC.
It incorporates an F-86 Sabre, (the type he flew in the Korean War) because
there were no surplus U-2 planes available when it was erected in the 1960's.