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Greenville, South Carolina: Jet Memorial to Cold War Casualty

Greenville high school graduate Major Rudolf Anderson Jr. was shot down over Cuba in a U-2 spy plane during the 1962 Missile Crisis (He was the only American killed by enemy fire during that near-war). At the time U-2s were unavailable (and still in covert service), so the town acquired a Korean War-era F-86 Sabre Jet like one Anderson had flown on combat missions.

Address:
Ridgeland Drive, Greenville, SC
Directions:
In Cleveland Park just south of Ridgeland Drive and midway between Cleveland St. and McDaniel Ave.
Admission:
Free
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Cold War jet.

Jet Memorial to Cold War Martyr

Wow, it's been there all my life.

[Jason, 03/24/2011]

Major Rudolf Anderson Jr. was a local high school grad who became a "national hero" when his U-2 spy plane was shot down over Cuba during the 1962 Missile Crisis. Seven months later this memorial was dedicated featuring a Cold War fighter jet on a pole, angled for action. Unable to get a U-2, the town substituted a F-86 Sabre Jet, the kind that Anderson flew against the Commies in Korea.


Nearby Offbeat Places

Medusa TreeMedusa Tree, Greenville, SC - < 1 mi.
Weird Peg Leg BatesWeird Peg Leg Bates, Greenville, SC - < 1 mi.
Shoeless Joe Jackson MuseumShoeless Joe Jackson Museum, Greenville, SC - < 1 mi.
In the region:
Indian Muffler Man, Edneyville, NC - 40 mi.

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