After three tours, Richard was no stranger to Korea, but the third go round was not the best.

Richard A. Anderson was born on March 5, 1930, in Jamestown, North Dakota, to Mr. and Mrs. J. R. Anderson. Accompanying Richard and his parents on their move to California in 1940, were his brothers James and John and sisters Ramona, Penny and Rita. Upon arrival in California the family settled in Richmond, California, and about 1945 moved to Santa Cruz. Richard entered Santa Cruz High School where he remained for the next two years. During his high school years, he worked part time while learning the sheet-metal trade.

Anderson left high school on August 13, 1946, and joined the US Air Force. After completing basic training, he received additional instruction as a radioman and earned his high school diploma. Over the ensuing years Anderson re-enlisted in the air force and married Sarah. In 1953 the couple's daughter Elizabeth was born.

In December 1953, Sergeant Anderson began his third tour in Korea and while he was stationed in the Far East, Sarah maintained the family residence on Portola Drive in Santa Cruz. By 1954 he had risen to the rank of Staff Sergeant and was serving as a radioman aboard a B-26.

On May 24, 1954, Staff Sergeant Richard A. Anderson, along with his fellow crew members were aboard their aircraft over Cheju-Do Island, sixty miles off the southern tip of Korea when it crashed into the side of a mountain. His remains were recovered and returned to California where they were interred in the Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno.

(NARA2; USDVA; SCSn August 8, 1954)