James Sanderson

James Richard "Sandy" Sanderson (December 27, 1925 – August 10, 2010) was a United States Navy vice admiral. He was born in Selma, California, and died in Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Portsmouth, Virginia; he had lived in Virginia Beach, Virginia, for a long time. His commands included; commanding officer of , , and Battle Force, United States Sixth Fleet; and Deputy Commander Atlantic Command, Atlantic Fleet. He entered the Navy Aviation V-5 program in September 1943 (some say March 1944) and retired from the Navy in April 1983.

During the Korean War, Sanderson was deployed with VA-195 in Carrier Air Group 19 aboard . Sanderson flew 101 combat missions during the war. Sanderson was then given command of Attack Wing Three aboard USS Saratoga.

During the Vietnam War, Sanderson commanded the ammunition ship USS Rainier from January 1969 to March 1970 and the carrier USS Saratoga from August 1971 to February 1973. During the latter command, the embarked Air Wing Three downed two MIGs over the Gulf of Tonkin.

Vice Admiral Sanderson was awarded the Legion of Merit four times, the Distinguished Service Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Meritorious Service Medal and five Air Medals. at the Mare Island naval chapel in Vallejo, California.