Rudolf Anderson, Jr.
Del Rio, Val Verde County, Texas
Marker Inscription
U.S. Air Force pilot Rudolf Anderson was the only American airman shot down during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Born in 1927 in South Carolina, Anderson joined the military in 1951 and soon began flying reconnaissance missions during the Korean Conflict. Stationed at Laughlin Air Force Base by 1957, he was here when the Cuban Missile Crisis developed in October 1962. On October 27, while piloting a U-2 plane over Cuba to provide surveillance of a medium range ballistic missile site under construction, antiaircraft fire hit his plane, killing him. The Air Force decorated Anderson posthumously and in 2001 renamed Laughlin's operation building Anderson Hall. He is buried in South Carolina. (2006)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
South Carolina native Rudolf Anderson joined the Air Force in 1951 and flew reconnaissance during the Korean Conflict before being stationed at Laughlin Air Force Base near Del Rio. On October 27, 1962, at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis, he was piloting a U-2 over Cuba to photograph a missile site under construction when antiaircraft fire brought down his plane, making him the only American airman killed in the crisis. Decorated posthumously, he was honored in 2001 when Laughlin's operations building was named Anderson Hall.
Why it matters
Anderson's death marked the single combat fatality of the Cuban Missile Crisis, a stark reminder of how close the Cold War came to catastrophe in October 1962.
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Related people
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Themes & tags
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Operation Brass Knob
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From Laughlin Air Force Base near Del Rio, Strategic Air Command and CIA crews flew high-altitude U-2 and RB-57 aircraft on secret Cold War reconnaissance. In October 1962 their cameras captured the Soviet missile sites in Cuba that touched off the Cuban Missile Crisis, and under 'Operation Brass Knob' U-2s photographed nearly all of the island. The crisis peaked on October 27 when a surface-to-air missile downed Maj. Rudolf Anderson Jr., the confrontation's only combat death.
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