In memory of
U.S. Army Air Forces, Major
Archibald Dean Anderson
Brookings, South Dakota
Brookings County
September 14, 1915 – February 26, 1945
Killed in Action in the South Pacific

Archibald Dean Anderson was born in Sioux City, Iowa to parents Charles J. and
Pearl C. Anderson. He later moved to Brookings where he attended The State
College for agriculture. He took part in many activities such as boxing,
agriculture, and numerous other sports. His mother was a house-mother for
Wecota and Wenona resident’s halls on the college campus.
“Archie” moved to
California because a sinus problem required a different environment. Here he
worked in a shoe repair shop before he entered the Armed Forces in October of
1940 at the Ryan School of Aeronautics.
Mr. Anderson served as
navigator in a plane that carried Lieutenant General Millard F. Harmon over the
Pacific Ocean, when his life was taken by surprise. Harmon was the Deputy
Commander of the 20th Air Force and had been instrumental in the
construction of B-29 bases in the Guam region. Depot Field was renamed Harmon
Field in his honor after the plane crash. He was presumed dead on February 12,
1945, and acknowledged dead on February 26, 1945 while serving as a Major in the
United States Army Air Corps. His plane had disappeared over the South
Pacific. He was awarded an Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters and was buried
at sea. His name is recorded in the Tablets of the Missing at the Honolulu
Memorial in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Although his mother, Pearl,
received special government notification, she had originally heard the news
about the missing plane over the radio and in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.
Archie was survived by a
sister, Lieutenant Lillian, of the Army Nurse Corps, a brother, Captain Rex, of
the United States Army engineer corps, and his mother, Pearl C. Anderson.
This information was respectfully submitted by
Jamison Lamp, seventh grade, Mickelson Middle School, Brookings, SD, May 2002.
Information for this entry was provided by the Brookings Register 3/7/45,
Brookings County Press 3/8/45, and
www.americanwardead.com. Articles were provided by George Norby of Images
of the Past, Brookings, SD. Mike Stowe, Accident Reports, 1322 West Main
Street, Millville, NJ, also provided information. SD application for a
veteran’s bonus payment.
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