[2] Anderson entered West Virginia University, where he was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, and graduated in 1940 after earning a Bachelor of Science degree.

Upon graduation from TBS in February 1941, he was ordered to Sea School, Marine Barracks, Portsmouth, Virginia, where he served as an instructor.

He remained there until December 1944, when he returned to duty in the Pacific Area and assumed command of Marine Bomber Squadron 443.

He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in July 1949 and assigned to the Office of the Judge Advocate General, where he served in various branches while a post-graduate student at The George Washington University Law School.

During May 1956, Anderson was assigned back to MCS, Quantico, Virginia, where he served first as an instructor, then Chief of the Air Section, Marine Corps Educational Center.

In the late summer of 1964, Anderson became the first program coordinator for the Marine Tactical Data System, the largest R&D effort in USMC history.

He was promoted to brigadier general on January 3, 1966, and, in February, assumed duty as deputy chief of staff (RD&S), HQMC, the first aviator to be assigned that position.

[clarification needed] In December 1967, he returned to the Far East, where he assumed duty as the Chief of Staff III Marine Amphibious Force – Republic of Vietnam.

He served as president and chairman of the board of directors of the Armed Forces Relief and Benefit Association (an insurance company catering to military servicemembers) from 1972 to 1975.

In November 1974, Anderson received the highest honor the GWU Law Association can bestow – the Distinguished Alumnus Award.

On November 12, 2015, Anderson died of a cerebral hemorrhage at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland at the age of 96.