By Saturday, Oct. 27, war was imminent. On that day, the 12th day of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Major Rudy Anderson took off for yet another U-2 overflight of Cuba. Witnesses say that his flight was almost canceled, but he argued to go ahead. Those who knew him say it was his sense of duty and the importance of this mission that drove him.
But his mission ended abruptly, as did his life, when he was shot down over the eastern end of Cuba.
As the president and the ExCom were considering Khrushchev's latest letter, they learned of Major Anderson's death. The loss of American life was a stunning new element. The Joint Chiefs wanted a massive air campaign against Cuba, beginning the following Monday, followed by an invasion a week later.
The ExCom made a last effort to avoid war, promising publicly not to invade Cuba if the Soviet Union withdrew its missiles and bartering privately to withdraw U.S. missiles from Turkey. But they had little hope of a peaceful resolution.
On Oct. 28, however, Khrushchev announced over Radio Moscow that he was removing the missiles from Cuba. The nation exhaled. War was averted.
But not without the casualty of Major Rudy Anderson. He left a wife, two sons, an unborn daughter, and a homeland free from nuclear attack.
Read more...