Lieutenant Anderson was the pilot of a F4U-4 Corsair fighter with Fighter Squadron 112, aboard the carrier USS Philippine Sea (CV-47). On 28 January 1952, while on a aviation gunnery drill, his aircraft's empennage was knocked off by a bomb from another aircraft. His plane crashed into the sea.

Anderson was awarded the Combat Action Ribbon, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.