Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

Edward W. Anderson (23 September 1903 – 12 April 1979) was an American military officer involved with flying operations, air education, and command structure. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he commanded several fighter organizations. Post-war he was involved with air education and Air Force logistics.

Early life and education

Edward W. Anderson was born at

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

, on 23 September 1903. He graduated from Long Beach High School, and then from Stanford University at

Palo Alto Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was es ...

in June 1928, majoring in Business Administration. He entered the Army as a flying cadet on 30 October 1928. Upon graduating a year later, he was commissioned a temporary permanent second lieutenant. He received his pilot's wings at Kelly Field, Texas, on 13 October 1929. After receiving additional training at

Rockwell Field Rockwell Field is a former United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) military airfield, located northwest of the city of Coronado, California, on the northern part of the Coronado Peninsula across the bay from San Diego, California. This airfield ...

, California, he was assigned at

March Field March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Ma ...

, California.

Military career

From 1929 to 1933, Anderson served as an assistant engineering officer, flight commander, adjutant school officer, and assistant operations officer at various stations including

, California, and

Albrook Field Albrook Air Force Station is a former United States Air Force facility in Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern ...

, Canal Zone. In 1933, he entered the Air Corps Technical School,

Chanute Field Chanute may refer to: * Chanute, Kansas, United States ** Chanute High School *Octave Chanute (1832–1910), American civil engineer and aviation pioneer *Chanute Air Force Base Chanute Air Force Base is a decommissioned United States Air Force ...

, Illinois, graduating in June 1934. After serving with the

24th Pursuit Squadron The 24th Fighter Squadron is a United States Air Combat Command unit, assigned to the 495th Fighter Group at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas. The squadron was activated in 2019 and flies the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting ...

from 1934 to 1936, during which time he was promoted to first lieutenant, he became flight commander and operations and intelligence officer of the

94th Pursuit Squadron The 94th Fighter Squadron is a unit of the United States Air Force 1st Operations Group located at Joint Base Langley–Eustis, Virginia. The 94th is equipped with the F-22 Raptor. The 94 FS is one of the oldest units in the United States Ai ...

Selfridge Field Selfridge Air National Guard Base or Selfridge ANGB is an Air National Guard installation located in Harrison Township, Michigan, near Mount Clemens. Selfridge Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the Unit ...

, Michigan. Anderson was supervisor of the Civil Mechanic School, Air Corps Training Detachment,

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts, from July 1938, to June 1939. He then attended the Air Corps Tactical School at

Maxwell Field Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation under the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. O ...

, Alabama, from which he graduated in June 1940.Staff, "S.B. Area Materiel Command To Change Hands", ''San Bernardino Daily Sun'', San Bernardino, California, City Page, Tuesday 8 June 1954, Volume LX, Number 241, p. 24. He was promoted to captain on 6 January 1940, major on 21 March 1941, and lieutenant colonel on 5 January 1942. =

World War II

Circa 9 March 1942, Anderson became commanding officer of the

20th Fighter Group 020 is the national dialling code for London in the United Kingdom. All subscriber numbers within the area code consist of eight digits and it has capacity for approaching 100 million telephone numbers. The code is used at 170 telephone exch ...

at Wilmington, North Carolina, and Charlotte, North Carolina, and held this capacity until August 1942. Anderson was promoted to full colonel on 22 August 1942, and went to England in September 1942, to organize the

4th Fighter Group The 4th Fighter Group was an American element of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Eighth Air Force during World War II. The group was known as the Debden Eagles because it was created from the three Eagle Squadrons of the Royal Air Force: ...

, composed of American pilots who had formed the famed

Eagle Squadron The Eagle Squadrons were three fighter squadrons of the Royal Air Force (RAF) formed with volunteer pilots from the United States during the early days of World War II (circa 1940), prior to America's entry into the war in December 1941. Wit ...

in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

. After commanding this group for one year he became commanding officer of the 65th Fighter Wing in England and on 3 March 1944 was promoted to brigadier general.

Cold War

In July 1945 Anderson returned to the United States and became chief of staff of the

I Fighter Command I Fighter Command was a United States Army Air Forces intermediate command responsible for command and control of the fighter operations within the First Air Force during World War II. It was initially established in June 1941 as the 1st Inte ...

Mitchel Field Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territor ...

, New York. The following year he entered the Air Force Special Staff School at

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

, Florida, and upon completion of the senior officer course, was assigned as chief of staff of the

1st Air Force The First Air Force (Air Forces Northern; 1 AF-AFNORTH) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. Its primary mission is the air defense of the Conti ...

Fort Slocum Fort Slocum, New York was a US military post which occupied Davids Island in the western end of Long Island Sound in the city of New Rochelle, New York from 1867 to 1965. The fort was named for Major General Henry W. Slocum, a Union corps comma ...

, New York. In April 1947 he became commanding general of the Air Force Technical Training School at

Keesler Field Keesler Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Biloxi, a city along the Gulf Coast in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. The base is named in honor of aviator 2d Lt Samuel Reeves Keesler Jr., a Mississippi n ...

, Mississippi. After one year he was appointed deputy commander and chief of staff of the Technical Division of the Air Training Command at

Scott Air Force Base Scott Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in St. Clair County, Illinois, near Belleville and O'Fallon, east-southeast of downtown St. Louis. Scott Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the ...

, Illinois. He was promoted to major general on 2 April 1948. In November 1948 he went to England where he served as chief of staff of the

3rd Air Division The 3rd Air Division (3d AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Strategic Air Command, assigned to Fifteenth Air Force, being stationed at Hickam AFB, Hawaii. It was inactivated on 1 April 1992. ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England and later as the commanding general of the 59th Air Depot Wing,

Burtonwood Burtonwood is a village in the civil parish of Burtonwood and Westbrook, in the Borough of Warrington, Cheshire, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, the name Burtonwood is known worldwide as the location of the ...

, England. He returned to the United States in July 1950 as the assistant deputy chief of staff, comptroller, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington D.C. He left this position in July 1954 and 1 October 1954 assumed command of the San Bernardino Air Materiel Area under the

Air Materiel Command Air Materiel Command (AMC) was a United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force command. Its headquarters was located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. In 1961, the command was redesignated the Air Force Logistics Command wi ...

Norton Air Force Base Norton Air Force Base (1942–1994) was a United States Air Force facility east of downtown San Bernardino in San Bernardino County, California. Overview For the majority of its operational lifetime, Norton was a logistics depot and heavy-l ...

, California. He held this command until his retirement from the Air Force on 1 November 1958.

Death

Edward Anderson died on 12 April 1979.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Edward W. 1903 births 1979 deaths Aviators from Kansas United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War United States Air Force generals United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Stanford University alumni Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath People from Manhattan, Kansas Long Beach Polytechnic High School alumni