Orvil A. Anderson

Orvil Orson "Andy" Anderson (May 2, 1895 — August 24, 1965) was an American Army and Air Force officer, and a pioneer Army balloonist. In 1935 he and Albert William Stevens won the Mackay Trophy when they set a record of 72,395 feet in their balloon Explorer II.

Early career On July 28, 1934, he participated in the Explorer I stratospheric balloon fight which reached an altitude of 60,613 feet before he had to bail out due to safety concerns.

In 1935 he and Albert William Stevens won the Mackay Trophy, the Harmon Trophy and the National Geographic Society Hubbard Medal when they set a record of 72,395 feet in their balloon Explorer II. Upon realizing the airplane and Miller were missing, Anderson, Deputy Commander for Operations of the Eighth Air Force, ordered a search and investigation. Miller was not found. Miller's wife Helen accepted her husband's Bronze Star medal at a ceremony at Miller's New York business office on March 23, 1945.

Korean War In 1950 Anderson was the Commandant of the USAF's Air War College. He was one of many Americans frustrated by the limitations placed upon American conduct of the Korean War. It was no secret that the North Koreans were acting on behalf of their sponsor, the Soviet Union, but as the Truman administration did not want the war to expand into a global conflict, fighting was limited to the Korean peninsula. Air Force Chief of Staff General Hoyt Vandenberg suspended Anderson after he told a newspaper interviewer, "Give me the order to do it and I can break up Russia’s five A-bomb nests in a week. And when I went up to Christ, I think I could explain to him why I wanted to do it—now—before it’s too late. I think I could explain to him that I had saved civilization." He retired shortly thereafter.

Awards Legion of Merit Distinguished Flying Cross World War I Victory Medal American Defense Service Medal American Campaign Medal World War II Victory Medal National Defense Service Medal