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Orvil A. Anderson

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Orvil A. Anderson
Nickname(s)"Andy"
Born(1895-05-02)May 2, 1895[1]
Springville, Utah, US
DiedAugust 22, 1965(1965-08-22) (aged 70)
Montgomery, Alabama, US
Place of burial
Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance United States of America
Service / branch United States Air Force
United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Service
Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps
Years of service1917–1950
Rank Major General

Orvil Orson "Andy" Anderson (May 2, 1895[2] - August 24, 1965) was born in Springville, Utah. Anderson was an Army and Air Force officer, and a pioneer Army balloonist. In 1935 he and Albert William Stevens won the Mackay Trophy when they set a record of 72,395 feet in their balloon Explorer II.[3]

Early career

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On July 28, 1934, he participated in the Explorer I stratospheric balloon fight which reached an altitude of 60,613 feet before he had to bail out due to safety concerns.[4]

In 1935 he and Albert William Stevens won the Mackay Trophy, the Harmon Trophy and the National Geographic Society Hubbard Medal[5][6] when they set a record of 72,395 feet in their balloon Explorer II.[3][4]

Anderson received the Distinguished Flying Cross twice, one for each of the two Explorer flights.

World War II

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Anderson (center) with Lieutenant General James Doolittle (right) and Brigadier General Charles Banfill (left) at 8th Air Force headquarters in England

In World War II, Anderson worked in the Air War Plans Division, and was involved in planning the Combined Bomber Offensive against Nazi Germany. He proved to be a brilliant, strategic planner and combat leader, as he selected the targets, planned, and directed the missions for Operation Big Week of February of 1944. These concentrated bombing strikes were the beginning of the 1,000-plane raids over Germany, which marked the turning point of the air war over Europe. He was promoted to brigadier general on September 18, 1942 and promoted to major general on February 28, 1944.

Search for Glenn Miller

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At the end of 1944, Anderson was in charge of an important search effort. Anderson's wife, Maude Miller Anderson was band leader Major Glenn Miller's cousin. Miller went missing over the English Channel on December 15, 1944. The Eighth Air Force and SHAEF did not realize that the UC-64 Norseman plane with Miller aboard was missing until three days later, on Monday, December 18, 1944.[7] Upon realizing the airplane and Miller were missing, Major General Orvil Anderson, Deputy Commander for Operations of the Eighth Air Force, ordered a search and investigation. Miller was not found. Mrs. Glenn (Helen) Miller accepted her husband's Bronze Star Medal at a ceremony at Miller's New York business office on March 23, 1945.[7] When Miller was officially declared dead in December 1945, Helen received a formal letter of condolence and appreciation from Gen. H. H. Arnold.[7] When Major General Orvil Anderson returned from Europe, he visited Helen Miller and informed her of the inquiry findings.[7] On January 20, 1945, an Eighth Air Force Board of Inquiry in England determined that the UC-64 airplane went down over the English Channel due to a combination of human error, mechanical failure and weather. He was not the victim of foul play or friendly fire.[7] Remains of the UC-64 and its passengers have never been found.[7] The three officers were officially declared dead on the standard year and a day after they went missing. This was published in a 1946 Army publication showing that Glenn Miller has a Finding of Death (FOD).[8] He was missing in action (MIA) on December 15, 1944, and his remains were not recoverable.

Korean War

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In 1950 Anderson was the Commandant of the USAF's Air War College. He was one of many Americans frustrated by the limitations placed upon American conduct of the Korean War. It was no secret that the North Koreans were acting on behalf of their sponsor, the Soviet Union, but as the Truman administration did not want the war to expand into a global conflict, fighting was limited to the Korean peninsula. Air Force Chief of Staff General Hoyt Vandenberg suspended Anderson after he told a newspaper interviewer, "Give me the order to do it and I can break up Russia’s five A-bomb nests in a week. And when I went up to Christ, I think I could explain to him why I wanted to do it—now—before it’s too late. I think I could explain to him that I had saved civilization."[9] He retired shortly thereafter.[1]

Death

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Anderson died on August 22, 1965, of lung cancer at Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Alabama.[10]

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Biography of Maj. Gen. Edward W. Anderson" (PDF). Air Force Historical Research Agency. 1951. pp. 2–4.
  2. ^ Fogerty, Robert (1953). "Biographical Data on Air Force General Officers, 1917-1952" (PDF). Air Force Historical Research Agency. pp. 52–54. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Gondola Steamed 73,000 Feet In Air. Captains Stevens and Anderson, Arriving in Chicago, Say They Were Mystified. Stratosphere Balloonists, With Capt. Williams, Ground Officer, Will Reach Capital Today". The New York Times. November 13, 1935. Retrieved 2011-05-26.
  4. ^ a b "Space Men: Transcript". American Experience. PBS. 9 July 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  5. ^ First High-Altitude Photo Archived 2010-01-18 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "National Geographic Society Hubbard Medal, Captain Orvil Anderson". Archived from the original on 2011-04-03. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
  7. ^ a b c d e f "Glenn Miller Declassified". Dennis M. Spragg. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  8. ^ Shenkle, Kathy, Glenn Miller: America's Musical Patriot, U.S. Army, Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, 1993 which includes information used for exhibits, news articles (Iowa, Colorado and military papers), and the ANC website. Retrieved September 11, 2022. The Army refers to Glenn Miller as having a finding of death (FOD) and having been missing in action (MIA) with remains not recoverable since Dec. 15, 1944.
  9. ^ "ARMED FORCES: The Five Nests". Time. September 11, 1950. Archived from the original on June 14, 2024. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  10. ^ "General Anderson of Air War School. High-Altitude Balloonist Dies". The New York Times. August 25, 1965. Retrieved 2011-05-26.
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