Orvil A. Anderson

He proved to be a brilliant, strategic planner and combat leader, as he selected the targets, planned, and directed the missions for Operation Big Week of February of 1944.The Eighth Air Force and SHAEF did not realize that the UC-64 Norseman plane with Miller aboard was missing until three days later, on Monday, December 18, 1944.[7] Upon realizing the airplane and Miller were missing, Major General Orvil Anderson, Deputy Commander for Operations of the Eighth Air Force, ordered a search and investigation.[7] On January 20, 1945, an Eighth Air Force Board of Inquiry in England determined that the UC-64 airplane went down over the English Channel due to a combination of human error, mechanical failure and weather.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.
Anderson (center) with Lieutenant General James Doolittle (right) and Brigadier General Charles Banfill (left) at 8th Air Force headquarters in England
Springville, UtahMontgomery, AlabamaArlington National CemeteryUnited States of AmericaUnited States Air ForceUnited States Army Air ForcesUnited States Army Air CorpsUnited States Army Air ServiceAviation Section, U.S. Signal CorpsMajor GeneralAlbert William StevensMackay TrophyExplorer IIExplorer IHarmon TrophyHubbard MedalDistinguished Flying CrossJames Doolittle8th Air ForceAir War Plans DivisionGlenn MillerEighth Air ForceAir War CollegeKorean WarMaxwell Air Force BaseLegion of MeritWorld War I Victory MedalAmerican Defense Service MedalAmerican Campaign MedalWorld War II Victory MedalNational Defense Service MedalAir Force Historical Research AgencyThe New York TimesWayback Machine