Maj Gen Anderson
Major General Orvil A. Anderson, Orvil Anderson graduated from the Army Balloon School in 1918 and became an early pioneer of balloon and airship flight, serving as pilot and navigator of the first continental airship flight in 1926. He gained fame as pilot of the National Geographic-Army Air Corps Stratospheric Expeditions of 1934-1935, achieving a height of 72,395 feet -- a record which stood for fifteen years.