This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Kent Weekly (SS/DSV) (DBF), EMCS
to remember
Anderson, William Robert, CAPT USN(Ret).
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Contact Info
Home Town Bakerville, TN
Last Address Alexandria, VA
Date of Passing Feb 25, 2007
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
Wall/Plot Coordinates 66 62
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
“He loved Tennessee, and he loved the Navy,” said Pat Anderson, who married Captain Anderson in 1980 and lives in Virginia.“His real strength was in giving other people the credit,” she said. “He treated everyone with great respect. … He was just totally unpretentious. He truly was shy. He hated cocktail parties and dreaded reunions. He was not a show guy.”
Born in Bakerville, Tennessee, on June 17, 1921, Captain Anderson graduated from ColumbiaMilitaryAcademy in Columbia, Tennessee, and the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis in 1942. He quickly advanced, becoming a Captain at 39.
He participated in 11 submarine combat patrol missions missions and was honored with the Bronze Star as well as other awards.
In 1964, Captain Anderson was elected to the U.S. Congress and represented Tennessee’s 6th District as a Democrat for four terms. At that time, the 6th District included 16 counties, including Trousdale, Sumner, Robertson, Cheatham, Montgomery, Dickson, Williamson, Maury and Rutherford.
“The people in this district are people with confidence in Tennessee and the nation to move forward to meet the challenges of this complicated era,” Captain Anderson was quoted as saying in November 1964 after winning the congressional seat. He was defeated in 1972 after he spoke out against the Vietnam war and publicly challenged then FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover about the treatment of anti-war activists and brothers Daniel and Philip Berrigan. Captain Anderson also served as consultant to Presidents John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson on the National Service Corps.
After his retirement from the Navy, Captain Anderson and his wife, Pat, founded Public Office Corporation, a data management firm.
Other Comments:
Submarine combat war patrols:
USS Tarpon (SS-175) - 4th
USS Narwhal (SS-167) - 5th through 12th
USS Trutta (SS-421) - 1st through 3rd
Operation Sunshine (North Pole)
From Month/Year
June / 1958
To Month/Year
June / 1958
Description Operation Sunshine was a scientific expedition conducted by the U.S. Navy in the summer of 1958. A crew of just over 100 sailors piloted the USS Nautilus (SSN-571) under the North Pole. The Nautilus was chosen for the mission because its nuclear reactor allowed it to remain submerged longer than a conventional submarine. The mission was completed successfully on August 3, 1958 when the Nautilus and her crew crossed under the North Pole.
Vanguard
The Cold War acted partially as a technology race between the United States and the Soviet Union. Not only was there tension over nuclear weapons, but the two countries were entering into the space race during the late 1950s. Russia was celebrating the successful launch of their Sputnik I satellite into orbit in October 1957. Shortly after, the U.S. attempted to launch their Vanguard I satellite, which exploded before taking off.
The issue was not just that the U.S. was behind the Soviets in terms of rocket power, but it was that the American public was aware of it. There was concern that the Russians would be able to use the same rockets that propelled Sputnik, to launch nuclear missiles at the U.S.. So not only was President Eisenhower having to work with his scientists to better the Soviets' technology but he also had the responsibility of maintaining stability with the people. What Eisenhower needed was something to show America and the rest of the world that the U.S. government was ahead of the Soviets technologically. Their answer for that was to take the two areas where they were ahead of the Soviets (submarines and nuclear weapons) and combine them.
Nautilus
The Nautilus was the first nuclear submarine built by the U.S.. It was designed by Admiral Hyman G. Rickover. Rickover had the hull of the boat built at the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut while the reactor was built and tested in Idaho. What made it different from those built during WWII was that it was not designed to be a warship but rather as a symbol for peaceful nuclear energy.
