It's not often that we can say one person saved our way of life within our own lifetime. I don't mean a national leader. Nor a soldier going off to war, although surely all such American soldiers — from WWI, WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, Desert Storm — have served to do just that. And I don't mean single-handedly.
On that day, the 12th day of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Major Rudy Anderson '48 took off for yet another U-2 overflight of Cuba.
But if you were born by the fall of 1962, you can say with certainty that fellow Clemson alumnus Rudy Anderson risked his life and lost it after a succession of missions that saved our homeland from a nuclear attack. And if you were born after those 13 days in October 1962 when the U.S. government faced down the Soviet Union in what became known as the Cuban Missile Crisis, your debt to Anderson is no less great.
'Big trouble' only 90 miles away
Oct. 16, 1962, U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy received a call from his brother President John F. Kennedy summoning him to the Oval Office with a foreshadowing of "big trouble." (read more here...)
Growing up in Greenville
Rudolf Anderson Jr. '48 was "a regular fun-loving kid," born and raised in Greenville. He graduated from Greenville High School and enrolled in Clemson in 1944 where he majored in textiles and served in the Air Force R.O.T.C. By the end of his college career, he had earned a position in Clemson's elite Senior Platoon. (read more here...)
Buildup begins
One such potential hot spot was Cuba since Fidel Castro had assumed power and aligned Cuba with the Soviet Union. After a failed U.S. attempt to overthrow him at the Bay of Pigs in 1961, Castro announced "defensive" measures against the United States by his Soviet allies. (read more here...)
Raising the ante
President Kennedy learned of the first aerial-surveillance photographs revealing Soviet missile buildup in Cuba on Oct. 16, 1962. Thus the countdown began. He quickly convened the ExCom to deal with the crisis. (read more here...)
Black Saturday
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. (read more here...)
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. (read more here...)
Also read: Deserved Recognition and Clemson Honors Hero of Cuban Missle Crisis — Oct. 2002