[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 71 (Friday, June 9, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E958]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING COMMANDER WILLIAM ROBERT ANDERSON

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR.

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, June 9, 2000

  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, today I honor retired Commander William 
Robert Anderson for his service to his Country in both the military and 
the House of representatives.
  Commander Anderson distinguished himself in combat and scientific 
accomplishment during his long career in the submarine service. During 
World War II, he completed a total of 11 submarine war patrols and 
earned a Bronze Star for his assistance in the sinking of 17 cargo-
carrying crafts and the rescue of a downed aviator.
  In May of 1953, Captain Anderson was granted his first command, the 
submarine U.S.S. Wahoo, and saw even more action during the Korean War. 
Two years later he would be chosen for another type of command, as head 
of the Tactical Department at the U.S. Submarine School in New London, 
Connecticut.
  This would not be the end of his sea duty, though. In fact, his most 
important command and date with history was yet to come. It was 
actually while Anderson was at the U.S. Submarine School that the 
United States commissioned its first nuclear submarine, the U.S.S. 
Nautilus on January 17, 1955.
  The potential of this new type of submarine brought a need for more 
officers trained in nuclear operations. And so, Commander Anderson 
found himself being called into Rear-Admiral H.G. Rickover's office to 
interview for the program in January of 1956.
  He soon found himself recruiting and awaiting a new command. During 
this time Rickover asked Anderson to devise a method of study for new 
officers entering the program. This project eventually evolved into the 
core study program for all nuclear submarine commanders.
  It was on April 30, 1957, that Captain Anderson was ordered to assume 
command of the U.S.S. Nautilus. His classified mission was to be ready 
to take his submarine and crew under the Arctic polar ice cap whenever 
he received the order.
  Known as ``Operation Sunshine'' by the Navy, this project would 
challenge both Captain Anderson's leadership skills and his nautical 
training.
  No one had ever succeeded in finding a northern sea passage before, 
and the lack of information and charts on the pack ice, the inability 
of normal navigational instruments to operate so near to the magnetic 
North Pole and other instrumentation problems had to be sorted out and 
solved--all in the deepest of secrecy.
  With the summer of 1957 ending, the crew of the Nautilus made its 
first attempt to traverse the ice pack while submerged. Using special 
ice detecting sonar, the Nautilus started maneuvering around the 
icebergs. It would not succeed on this attempt or the next one in June 
of 1958.
  The same cannot be said for the third attempt, and on August 3, 1958, 
Captain Anderson and the crew of the Nautilus finally crossed under the 
North Pole. Upon return to the United States, the entire crew was 
honored with a ticker tape parade in New York City and Anderson was 
personally awarded the Legion of Merit by President Eisenhower.
  Commander Anderson's career continued to flourish--from his serving 
as an aide to the Secretary of the Navy, Fred Korth, to his appointment 
as the Director of the National Service Corps, which would be renamed 
the Peace Corps in later years by President Kennedy.
  In 1960, Anderson was even considered as a possible gubernatorial 
candidate in Tennessee, but he decided to fulfill his 20 year 
commitment to the Navy. Upon retirement from the Navy, Anderson was 
elected as the Representative from the Sixth District of Tennessee in 
1965, and he continued to serve his constituents for four successive 
terms in office before retiring to Virginia.
  I, for one, am proud of the accomplishments of my fellow Tennessean, 
William Robert Anderson. For his diligent and long-standing service to 
this great Country and the State of Tennessee, I would like to return 
the honor by paying him this tribute to his great accomplishments.
  While Commander Anderson now resides in the great state of Virginia, 
we Tennesseans still choose to claim him as one of our native sons.




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