Virginia Beach - Norman J. Anderson, 96, a retired Major General in the United States Marine Corps, who served for 37 years, and then ran the MacArthur Memorial Foundation after his retirement, died on September 6, 2009 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Although he had a distinguished career, and was a pioneer in close air support in three wars, his military career was nearly aborted before it began - shorter than the minimum required height, he was initially rejected by the recruiters, and was only accepted after a friend whacked him on the head with a flat piece of wood hard enough to bump him up to the required height! General Anderson, the son of an engineer and a piano teacher, was born in Manitowoc, Wisconsin on February 7, 1913. He was raised in Wisconsin and Florida, and graduated from high school in Glendale California. He then attended the University of California at Los Angeles where he was a member of the ROTC unit, and graduated in 1934 with a B.A. degree in History. He also completed one term of postgraduate study in East Asian Affairs at Stanford University. One of the original pilots of American Airlines, he was an aviation pioneer for nearly 40 years, focusing an innovative mindset on developing (and defending) Marine Air's team approach to the support of ground troops. On Guadalcanal he led the famous SCAT effort to resupply Marines on the ground at a time when Japan controlled the sea around the island. As memorialized in a 1992 article in the Marine Corps Gazette, "When this, the first of the SCAT aircraft, rolled to a stop..., the U.S. Marines had inaugurated a totally unique combat air service." SCAT also set a world record for the longest mass flight of twin engine aircraft in history. Later, he flew over 100 bombing missions as Commanding Officer, Marine Bombing Squadron 423, in the Bismarck Archipelago, and Philippine campaigns. For heroism and distinguished service during this period, he was awarded three Distinguished Flying Crosses and seven Air Medals. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel at the age of 31, in March 1944. In Korea, he led air cover during General MacArthur's famous Inchon landing -- executing the close air support tactics, based on decentralized decision-making, that characterized Marine Air's approach to war. As a pilot flying with VMF-323 based aboard the Badoeng Strait (affectionately known as the BingDing), he was famous for endurance, often landing only to refuel and take off again. He earned the Silver Star Medal, his 4th DFC, and his 8th through 10th Air Medals. His approach was the Marine approach, making sure that troops on the ground were safe, well-supplied and successful. In 1956 he was appointed to the Hogaboom Board, overseeing a re-design of the Marine force structure, particularly including the optimal role of helicopters in supporting ground troops. In the early 1960's he was named Director of Marine Corps Aviation, and stationed at Headquarters Marine Corps. General Anderson was also active in Vietnam, arriving in June 1967, he assumed duty as Deputy Commander for Air, Ill MAF and CG, 1st MAW, and earned the Distinguished Service Medal and his 11th Air Medal. He was instrumental in the Marines successful defense of Khe Sanh during the 1968 Tet offensive, brainstorming with close friends from World War II and Korea the razzle-dazzle Super Gaggle concept which saved countless lives, and brought helicopter capacity safely into the contested battlefield in a new way. The idea of the Super Gaggle "was to establish a small task force consisting of 8 to 16 resupply CH-46 helicopters, about a dozen A-4 Skyhawks and four Huey gunships to fly cover, a Marine KC-130 to refuel the aircraft, and a TA-4F with a TAC (A) in the backseat to orchestrate the entire affair." Once again, as with SCAT at Guadalcanal 24 years earlier, he brought mission critical benefits of air power to Marines on the ground. "If it weren't for the Gaggle most of us probably wouldn't be here today," according to Bill Dabney, probably the most shot at Marine at Khe Sanh. General Anderson had a strong moralistic streak throughout his life. He famously fought William Westmoreland in defense of the Marine's approach to close air support, with the backing of his superiors winning the day for Marine Air's decentralized, team, approach to the battlefield. Westmoreland note that this was the one point in the war when he seriously thought of resigning, and later recalled that General Anderson became 'very emotional' in pressing his argument. And in mid-1941 he lent the famous ace and close friend Greg "Pappy" Boyington $1000 so that he could go to China and fight with the Flying Tigers, money that, he proudly recalled, 'was paid back in full and on time.' After retiring from the Marine Corps in August 1972 he authored a series of articles on close air support with soaring titles like "Marine Aviation Ready for any Emergency: Air-Ground Team Concept Value is Hailed," and "Laurels at Low Tide," describing the Inchon landings." After retirement he was involved with the MacArthur Memorial Foundation in Norfolk, Virginia, for 28 years - for the first 10 years as Executive Director, and then as a member of the board, helping to turn what had been a forgotten museum into a civic center for the re-birth of a dilapidated downtown area, as well as a world-class memorial for one of America's greatest warriors. He remained a Director Emeritus until his death. Major General Anderson's medals and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal with gold star; the Silver Star; the Distinguished Flying Cross with three gold stars in lieu of subsequent awards; the Presidential Unit Citation with two bronze stars in lieu of second and third awards; and 22 additional awards. He was predeceased by his brother, Dr. Thomas F. Anderson, a pioneer in the use of electron microscopy, and is survived by his sister Amy Duling, and his wife of 55 years, Irene Fernandez Anderson, a former professor of Romance Languages at Middlebury College and Syracuse University, and later an employee of the CIA. Survivors also include two sons, Norman F. Anderson, of Fairfax, VA, and Dr. Kirk C. Anderson, of Flagstaff, AZ; and four grandchildren. A Memorial Mass will be conducted at 10:00 AM, Wednesday at St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church. Burial with full military honors will be at Arlington National Cemetery. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.hdoliver.com.
Obituary, Oliver Funeral Home.
Virginia Beach - Norman J. Anderson, 96, a retired Major General in the United States Marine Corps, who served for 37 years, and then ran the MacArthur Memorial Foundation after his retirement, died on September 6, 2009 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Although he had a distinguished career, and was a pioneer in close air support in three wars, his military career was nearly aborted before it began - shorter than the minimum required height, he was initially rejected by the recruiters, and was only accepted after a friend whacked him on the head with a flat piece of wood hard enough to bump him up to the required height! General Anderson, the son of an engineer and a piano teacher, was born in Manitowoc, Wisconsin on February 7, 1913. He was raised in Wisconsin and Florida, and graduated from high school in Glendale California. He then attended the University of California at Los Angeles where he was a member of the ROTC unit, and graduated in 1934 with a B.A. degree in History. He also completed one term of postgraduate study in East Asian Affairs at Stanford University. One of the original pilots of American Airlines, he was an aviation pioneer for nearly 40 years, focusing an innovative mindset on developing (and defending) Marine Air's team approach to the support of ground troops. On Guadalcanal he led the famous SCAT effort to resupply Marines on the ground at a time when Japan controlled the sea around the island. As memorialized in a 1992 article in the Marine Corps Gazette, "When this, the first of the SCAT aircraft, rolled to a stop..., the U.S. Marines had inaugurated a totally unique combat air service." SCAT also set a world record for the longest mass flight of twin engine aircraft in history. Later, he flew over 100 bombing missions as Commanding Officer, Marine Bombing Squadron 423, in the Bismarck Archipelago, and Philippine campaigns. For heroism and distinguished service during this period, he was awarded three Distinguished Flying Crosses and seven Air Medals. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel at the age of 31, in March 1944. In Korea, he led air cover during General MacArthur's famous Inchon landing -- executing the close air support tactics, based on decentralized decision-making, that characterized Marine Air's approach to war. As a pilot flying with VMF-323 based aboard the Badoeng Strait (affectionately known as the BingDing), he was famous for endurance, often landing only to refuel and take off again. He earned the Silver Star Medal, his 4th DFC, and his 8th through 10th Air Medals. His approach was the Marine approach, making sure that troops on the ground were safe, well-supplied and successful. In 1956 he was appointed to the Hogaboom Board, overseeing a re-design of the Marine force structure, particularly including the optimal role of helicopters in supporting ground troops. In the early 1960's he was named Director of Marine Corps Aviation, and stationed at Headquarters Marine Corps. General Anderson was also active in Vietnam, arriving in June 1967, he assumed duty as Deputy Commander for Air, Ill MAF and CG, 1st MAW, and earned the Distinguished Service Medal and his 11th Air Medal. He was instrumental in the Marines successful defense of Khe Sanh during the 1968 Tet offensive, brainstorming with close friends from World War II and Korea the razzle-dazzle Super Gaggle concept which saved countless lives, and brought helicopter capacity safely into the contested battlefield in a new way. The idea of the Super Gaggle "was to establish a small task force consisting of 8 to 16 resupply CH-46 helicopters, about a dozen A-4 Skyhawks and four Huey gunships to fly cover, a Marine KC-130 to refuel the aircraft, and a TA-4F with a TAC (A) in the backseat to orchestrate the entire affair." Once again, as with SCAT at Guadalcanal 24 years earlier, he brought mission critical benefits of air power to Marines on the ground. "If it weren't for the Gaggle most of us probably wouldn't be here today," according to Bill Dabney, probably the most shot at Marine at Khe Sanh. General Anderson had a strong moralistic streak throughout his life. He famously fought William Westmoreland in defense of the Marine's approach to close air support, with the backing of his superiors winning the day for Marine Air's decentralized, team, approach to the battlefield. Westmoreland note that this was the one point in the war when he seriously thought of resigning, and later recalled that General Anderson became 'very emotional' in pressing his argument. And in mid-1941 he lent the famous ace and close friend Greg "Pappy" Boyington $1000 so that he could go to China and fight with the Flying Tigers, money that, he proudly recalled, 'was paid back in full and on time.' After retiring from the Marine Corps in August 1972 he authored a series of articles on close air support with soaring titles like "Marine Aviation Ready for any Emergency: Air-Ground Team Concept Value is Hailed," and "Laurels at Low Tide," describing the Inchon landings." After retirement he was involved with the MacArthur Memorial Foundation in Norfolk, Virginia, for 28 years - for the first 10 years as Executive Director, and then as a member of the board, helping to turn what had been a forgotten museum into a civic center for the re-birth of a dilapidated downtown area, as well as a world-class memorial for one of America's greatest warriors. He remained a Director Emeritus until his death. Major General Anderson's medals and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal with gold star; the Silver Star; the Distinguished Flying Cross with three gold stars in lieu of subsequent awards; the Presidential Unit Citation with two bronze stars in lieu of second and third awards; and 22 additional awards. He was predeceased by his brother, Dr. Thomas F. Anderson, a pioneer in the use of electron microscopy, and is survived by his sister Amy Duling, and his wife of 55 years, Irene Fernandez Anderson, a former professor of Romance Languages at Middlebury College and Syracuse University, and later an employee of the CIA. Survivors also include two sons, Norman F. Anderson, of Fairfax, VA, and Dr. Kirk C. Anderson, of Flagstaff, AZ; and four grandchildren. A Memorial Mass will be conducted at 10:00 AM, Wednesday at St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church. Burial with full military honors will be at Arlington National Cemetery. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.hdoliver.com.
Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/41758691/norman_jacob-anderson: accessed
), memorial page for MG Norman Jacob Anderson (7 Feb 1913–6 Sep 2009), Find a Grave Memorial ID 41758691, citing Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington,
Arlington County,
Virginia,
USA;
Maintained by SsjD (contributor 48849350).
Add Photos for MG Norman Jacob Anderson
Fulfill Photo Request for MG Norman Jacob Anderson
Photo Request Fulfilled
Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request
There is an open photo request for this memorial
Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request?
Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s).
Oops, something didn't work. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again.
Make sure that the file is a photo. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced.
All photos uploaded successfully, click on the <b>Done button</b> to see the photos in the gallery.
General photo guidelines:
Photos larger than 8.0 MB will be optimized and reduced.
Each contributor can upload a maximum of 5 photos for a memorial.
A memorial can have a maximum of 20 photos from all contributors.
The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional 10 photos (for a total of 30 on the memorial).
Include gps location with grave photos where possible.
No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments.)
You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial.
Memorial Photos
This is a carousel with slides. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel.
Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried.
Show Map
If the memorial includes GPS coordinates, simply click 'Show Map' to view the gravesite location within the cemetery. If no GPS coordinates are available, you can contribute by adding them if you know the precise location.
Photos
For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab.
Photos Tab
All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer.
Flowers
Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button.
Family Members
Family members linked to this person will appear here.
Related searches
Use the links under See more… to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc.
Sponsor This Memorial
Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option.
Share
Share this memorial using social media sites or email.
Save to
Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print.
Edit or Suggest Edit
Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager.
Have Feedback
Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you.
You may not upload any more photos to this memorial
"Unsupported file type"
Uploading...
Waiting...
Success
Failed
This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has photos
This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded photos to this memorial
This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has photos
This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded photos to this memorial
Invalid File Type
Uploading 1 Photo
Uploading 2 Photos
1 Photo Uploaded
2 Photos Uploaded
Added by
GREAT NEWS! There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery.
Sorry! There are no volunteers for this cemetery. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request.
Enter numeric value
Enter memorial Id
Year should not be greater than current year
Invalid memorial
Duplicate entry for memorial
You have chosen this person to be their own family member.
Reported!
This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates.
0% Complete
Saved
Sign in or Register
Sign in to Find a Grave
Sign-in to link to existing account
There is a problem with your email/password.
There is a problem with your email/password.
There is a problem with your email/password.
We encountered an unknown problem. Please wait a few minutes and try again. If the problem persists contact Find a Grave.
We’ve updated the security on the site. Please reset your password.
Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. Please contact Find a Grave at [email protected] if you need help resetting your password.
This account has been disabled. If you have questions, please contact [email protected]
This account has been disabled. If you have questions, please contact [email protected]
Email not found
Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person.
Sign in to your existing Find a Grave account. You’ll only have to do this once—after your accounts are connected, you can sign in using your Ancestry sign in or your Find a Grave sign in.
We found an existing Find a Grave account associated with your email address. Sign in below with your Find a Grave credentials to link your Ancestry account. After your accounts are connected you can sign in using either account.
Please enter your email to sign in.
Please enter your password to sign in.
Please enter your email and password to sign in.
There is a problem with your email/password.
A system error has occurred. Please try again later.
A password reset email has been sent to EmailID. If you don't see an email, please check your spam folder.
We encountered an unknown problem. Please wait a few minutes and try again. If the problem persists contact Find a Grave.
Password Reset
Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code.
Registration Options
Welcome to Find a Grave
Create your free account by choosing an option below.
or
Ancestry account link
To create your account, Ancestry will share your name and email address with Find a Grave. To continue choose an option below.
or
If you already have a Find a Grave account, please sign in to link to Ancestry®.
New Member Registration
Email is mandatory
Email and Password are mandatory
This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. Resend Activation Email
Your password is not strong enough
Invalid Email
You must agree to Terms and Conditions
Account already exists
Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox
Internal Server error occurred
If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map
You must select an email preference
We have sent you an activation email
Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters.
We just emailed an activation code to
Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account.
cemeteries found in will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
Within 5 miles of your location.
Within 5 kilometers of your location.
0 cemeteries found in .
0 cemeteries found.
Add a cemetery to fulfill photo requests
You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below.
Search above to list available cemeteries.
Getting location…
Loading...
Loading...
No cemeteries found
Find a Grave Video Tutorials
Default Language
Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [email protected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. Thanks for your help!
Preferred Language
We have set your language to based on information from your browser.