William “Bill“ Anders, the astronaut who showed us our planet as we had never seen it

Maj. Gen. William Anders, the Apollo 8 astronaut who took the famous “Earthrise” photo in 1968, was featured as one of Eric Johnson’s “Heroes” in May 2017. Anders died on Friday, June 7, 2024, when the vintage Beechcraft T-34 Mentor he was flying crashed into the water near Jones Island in San Juan County, Washington. Anders’ son, Lt. Col. Greg Anders, told KOMO News the plane that crashed was the same aircraft he flew in 2017 when he spoke to KOMO News. The first report that an “older model plane” crashed around 11:40 a.m. Friday, the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office said. Officials said the T-34 was reportedly flying from north to south before crashing about 80 feet offshore of Jones Island.  Anders told KOMO News in 2017 a Beechcraft T-34 Mentor was the very first plane he flew solo in, many, many years ago. Anders was on Apollo 8, along with Frank Borman and Jim Lovell. He was one of the first three members of humankind to break free from Earth’s grasp and leave its orbit.