"The Twelfth Day" — In Remembrance

In retrospect, some experts see the loss of Rudy Anderson as the melting point that caused Khrushchev to back down, the realization that the United States would strike back almost immediately if he didn't act fast.

Others see Anderson's death as the one casualty in an intense aerial surveillance that helped avoid a war. Either way, historians and leaders have recognized his immeasurable sacrifice.

Renowned journalist Eric Severied may have said it best when he wrote: "I cannot get Major Anderson out of my mind. The thought will not go away that a time may come when it will be a tradition for Americans . . . to place wreaths at the grave of the U-2 pilot shot down over Cuba . . . our 'known solider' representing hosts of others who did not die in one of history's most decisive victories."