The noble sacrifice of a South Carolinian defused the most dangerous incident of the Cold War: The Cuban Missile Crisis!
A monument to U.S. Air Force Major Rudolf Anderson stands in Greenville, South Carolina's Cleveland Park. Anderson was a veteran of the Korean War, but his most notable contribution came when he served as the pilot of a Lockheed U-2 Spy Plane during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Anderson was a member of the U.S. Air Force's 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, and was among the first pilots to discover that the Soviet Union was stockpiling intermediate range ballistic missiles in Cuba. Anderson lost his life on October 27, 1962 when his U-2 was shot down by a Soviet surface to air missile. Anderson was the only combat casualty of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Host Andrew and the SCETV crew make a trek up to Cleveland Park to see his monument. Special guest Professor of History Rod Andrew of Clemson University joins to expound on the tale of this American hero.
