Rudolf Anderson, pilot and commissioned officer in the United States Air Force (died 1962)

Rudolf Anderson Jr. was an American Air Force major and pilot. He was the first recipient of the Air Force Cross, the U.S. military's and Air Force's second-highest award and decoration for valor. The only U.S. fatality by enemy fire during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Anderson was killed when his U-2 reconnaissance aircraft was shot down over Cuba. He had previously served in Korea during the Korean War.