William Anderson's Obituary
Obituary
Captain William R. Anderson, USN (ret)
William Robert Anderson died February 25, 2007, in Leesburg, Virginia. He is survived by his wife, Patricia Walters Anderson; his son, Dr. Michael David Anderson, of Haymarket, Virginia; his son, William Robert Anderson, Jr., and his wife Catherine of Orange County, Virginia; his daughter, Jane Hensley Anderson of Leesburg; and youngest son Thomas McKelvey “Mac” Anderson of Leesburg; his granddaughter, Amanda Rose Anderson, of Ellicott City, Maryland; and his sister, Josephine Garner, of Franklin, Tennessee. He was predeceased by a sister, Margaret Taylor Gorda of Waynesboro, Tennessee.
Funeral services for friends and family will be held on March 16 at 11 a.m. at the Old Ft. Myer Chapel followed by burial at Arlington National Cemetery. The family has been comforted by the tributes and fond memories that have poured in from people whose lives have been touched or inspired by this great gentleman.
Anderson was born on June 17, 1921 at Bakerville, Tennessee, the son of David H. and Mary M. Anderson. In 1943, he married the former Yvonne Etzel of Newark, Delaware. They had two sons, Michael and William. In 1980, he married the former Patricia Walters of Wake Forest, North Carolina. They had two children, Jane and Thomas.
He graduated from the Columbia Military Academy before entering the U.S. Naval Academy in July 1939. Graduated and commissioned Ensign on June 19, 1942, with the Class of 1943, he subsequently advanced to the rank of Captain on July 1, 1962. That promotion came two years early and ahead of almost 2,000 contemporaries, making him, at age 39, the youngest captain in the Navy.
Upon graduation from the Naval Academy he received instruction at the Submarine School, New London, Connecticut. From October 1942 to June 1943 he was assigned to the USS Tarpon, participating in three war patrols and receiving a Letter of Commendation with Ribbon and Combat “V”. The citation follows in part:
“For meritorious conduct in the performance of his duties in the USS Tarpon during the Sixth War Patrol of that vessel in the Japanese waters from 10 January to 25 February 1943. As Battle Station Officer of the Deck, his skillful navigation of his ship materially assisted his Commanding Officer in conducting successful attacks which resulted in the sinking of 21,000 tons of enemy shipping…”
He next served for a year as Gunnery Officer and First Lieutenant of the submarine Narwhal which, during that time, made several war patrols and performed several special missions in support of guerilla operations in the Philippines. While serving in the USS Trutta from July 1944 until August 1946 he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Combat “V”, “For meritorious service as Engineer and Diving Officer…during the Second War Patrol of that vessel in the Yellow Sea from May 28 to July 17, 1945.” The citation further states: “(He) rendered invaluable assistance to his commanding officer in conducting successful attacks which resulted in the sinking of seventeen cargo-carrying small craft and in the efficient rescue of a downed aviator…”
Transferring to the USS Sarda in September 1946, after eleven World War II submarine war patrols, he was first Engineer and later Executive Officer of that vessel until September 1949 when he returned to the United States to become Instructor in Naval Weapons with the Naval Reserve Officers’ Training Corps Unit at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. Following that duty he again went to sea in February 1951 as Executive Officer in the USS Trutta until September 1951 when he was assigned in the same capacity to the fast attack submarine Tang. In May 1953 he became Commanding Officer of the USS Wahoo which participated in action in the Korean theater from January to May 1954. In July 1955 he became Head, Tactical Department, at the U.S. Navy Submarine School, New London. Within one year, he was assigned to the Division of Reactor Development, Atomic Energy Commission, Washington, D.C., directly under Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, known at the time as the “father of the nuclear navy.”
On April 30, 1957, he was ordered to duty as Commanding Officer of the USS Nautilus, the first atomic powered submarine and on June 19, 1957 relieved Captain Eugene P. Wilkinson, USN, the first Commanding Officer of the Nautilus, during that submarine’s visit to Seattle, Washington. Anderson stated years later that he wanted his command to be more than just second act to Wilkinson’s spectacular first command of the world famous submarine. He felt the ship and crew deserved his maximum efforts.
Anderson began his work in the Arctic during a pioneering 1957 cruise of the Nautilus, during which the atomic powered submarine cruised to within 180 miles of the North Pole and accumulated extensive scientific and operational data. That exploration was the basis for the Stephen Decatur Award by the Navy League of the United States. He also received a Legion of Merit; his citation reads in part:
“Commander Anderson exhibited outstanding qualities of leadership and professional competence beyond that required or expected of his rank or experience. During three separate submerged penetrations of the Arctic ice cap, and despite the hazards of submerged operations in certain areas where surfacing was dangerous, he successfully directed his ship’s safe penetration of these previously unpenetrated Arctic waters…constantly mindful of the welfare of his men…in keeping with the highest tradition of the United States Naval Service.”
The following year, Anderson and his crew of 115 aboard Nautilus made the first voyage in history from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean by way of the North Pole, accomplishing this feat by passing under the ice at the North Pole at 11:15 p.m. (EDT) on August 3, 1958. The officers and men of the Nautilus received the Presidential Unit Citation, the first time in peace that this award had been made. Commander Anderson was awarded another Legion of Merit presented by the President at the White House on August 9, 1958. It reads:
“For exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services while serving as Commanding Officer of the USS Nautilus (SSN 571) during the period 8 June to 5 August 1958. Commander Anderson, by foresighted planning, skilled seamanship and thorough study of the Arctic Area, succeeded in cruising Nautilus across the top of the world from the Bering Sea to the Greenland Sea, passing submerged beneath the geographic North Pole. Under his intrepid leadership, Nautilus pioneered a submerged sea-lane between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. This points the way for further exploration and possible use of this route by nuclear powered cargo submarines as a new commercial seaway between the major oceans of the world.
“Commander Anderson’s leadership, skilled application of professional knowledge, and courage were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Armed Forces of the United States.”
Headlines from around the world reflected a joyous reaction to Nautilus’s historic voyage. It was a tremendous technological victory for the United States at a time when Cold War tension with the Soviet Union was high. They had, seemingly effortlessly, propelled the satellite “Sputnik” into the stratosphere at a time when the U.S. satellite rockets could not get off the ground. Nautilus’s transpolar exploration gave the U.S. and the rest of the free world something to cheer about.
Anderson was a modest, handsome hero that unfailingly gave others the credit. Nevertheless, he was showered with attention and awards beginning immediately following the famous voyage. He was presented with a Gold Medal representing the Christopher Columbus International Communications Award in Genoa, Italy. He was also awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Science by Defiance College.
In 1959, the Royal Geographic Society presented him the Patron’s Medal by authorization of Queen Elizabeth. He also received the Elisha Kent Kane Medal from the Philadelphia Geographic Society for “eminent geographical research.” In 1960, he received Freedom Leadership Award, the highest award of the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, with citation as follows:
“For a life of patriotic zeal, technical competence, integrity and faith, which resulted in his selection by the United States Navy for powerful, positive leadership. For exemplifying in behalf of all the officers and men of the United States Navy the highest level of competence and patriotic devotion. For humility in the face of high honor. For strength in the face of danger.”
Following duty on the Nautilus, Captain Anderson served as Director of Personnel Selection and Training in the Navy Nuclear Propulsion Training Program, once again under Vice Admiral H. G. Rickover. He then served as Naval Aide to two Secretaries of the Navy. In this capacity his duties involved direct assistance in Navy budget planning, development, and preparation; Congressional hearings involving Naval matters; and general administrative management of the Navy.
After 20 years of service, Captain Anderson retired from the Navy. He became a consultant to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson coordinating legislative efforts to create the Domestic Peace Corps (VISTA). In 1964, he was elected to the U.S. Congress representing the sixth district of Tennessee as a Democrat. While serving in Congress for four terms, he was the author of the Amendment to the Omnibus Crime Control Act of 1968, which created a Law Enforcement Education Program, under which more than a half million law enforcement personnel have studied at the college level. He also instituted the first definitive House action against massive impoundment of appropriated funds. Congressman Anderson was the co-discoverer of the infamous South Vietnamese “Tiger Cages” at Con Son.
Anderson, standing up for law and order, opposed what he viewed as illegal and underhanded tactics of J. Edgar Hoover and President Nixon – his name ending up on Nixon’s infamous “enemies list.” Though he was well liked by his colleagues and constituents, Anderson was narrowly defeated for a fifth term in the national election the year Senator George McGovern was the Democrat’s nominee for president. He was also hurt by the reconfiguration of congressional districts in Tennessee and, what many consider, a lot of dirty tricks inspired by Hoover, then the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
After leaving Congress in 1973, Captain Anderson became Chairman of the Board of Digital Management Corporation, the first firm to offer on-line computerized constituent management services to members of Congress. He also served on the Board of Directors at the Atlantic Union. Subsequently, with his wife, Pat, he founded Public Office Corporation, a data management firm specializing in computer-related services to presidential primary campaign committees and members of the U.S. Senate and U. S. House of Representatives seeking reelection. Presidential primary clients included Congressman Dick Gephardt, Senators John Glenn, Paul Simon, and Al Gore. Governor, and later, President Bill Clinton was a client from 1991 to 1995.
In 1997, The Explorers Club, one of the world’s most distinguished societies presented Lowell Thomas Medals to Anderson and fellow Arctic submarine pioneers Vice Admiral James Calvert, Vice Admiral John Nicholson, Vice Admiral George Steele and Dr. Waldo Lyon. In 2003, Anderson received The Explorers Club’s Finn Ronne Memorial Award for accomplishment in polar field research. He was also elected to honorary membership of the Club, a group that is limited to twenty living members for their lifelong achievement in the field of exploration. The roll has included Theodore Roosevelt, Sir Edmund Hillary, Charles Lindberg, and John Glenn.
In 2004, at the invitation of the American Geographical Society, Anderson signed the famed ancient globe that contains signatures of the world’s greatest explorers.
He was the author with Clay Blair, Jr., of Nautilus 90 North, a New York Times bestseller, printed in numerous foreign editions through the United States Information Service. His second work, a book for children entitled First Under the North Pole, received an award from the Boys’ Clubs of America in 1959. In 1960, his third book, The Useful Atom, was published with co-author Vernon Pizer.
Before his death, Anderson, along with Don Keith, a well-known naval historian, completed a manuscript that is a revised and expanded version of the 1957 and 1958 Nautilus explorations. It includes many details that were either unknown or could not be revealed due to national security. Release is expected later this year.
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