Don Brand Anderson, a central figure in one of King Harbor’s most fabled fishing stories, passed away peacefully last Friday at his home in Kahuku on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, surrounded by his family and close friends.
On September 13, 1992, when Anderson was 64, he and buddies Marty Salas and Lonnie Argabright went swordfishing aboard the Salas 6X off the west end of Catalina Island.
In the morning, Anderson harpooned a big swordfish. Then, according to Salas, “We were hauling the fish aboard when the line broke. I turned around and all I saw were the bottoms of Andy’s shoes going over the side.”
Argabright, in recalling the story in a 1992 Easy Reader interview with reporter Mike Macdonald, said, “There was one small float still on the line, and it was sinking fast.”
“I was looking at a lot of money sinking into the depths,” Anderson said. “It was just a reaction. I grabbed the line about 10 feet under water. It was a real handful swimming back to the surface.”
Then the fishing trip got even more exciting. Salas spotted another swordfish, swimming upside down. Something had bitten off its bill and its tail. While they were lashing a rope around the remains of the big fish to pull it aboard, the mako that had killed it surfaced just behind their boat. Salas turned the boat around and Anderson hit the big shark with a harpoon.
“That shark barely skipped a beat when Don hit him with the first harpoon,” Argabright said. Anderson’s second harpoon severed the big fish’s spine.
That evening, as they entered King Harbor, fireworks erupted all around them. “We thought all the fireworks were for us. But it was the city of Redondo’s centennial celebration,” Argabright said.
Anderson’s determination and humility were among his many astonishing traits. Everyone who met him became enamored by his friendly, open and giving nature. From a stranger stranded at the airport to a lone surfer needing a ride up to Sunset Beach, he was always a generous and kind man. Many a friendly stranger found himself or herself sitting at the Andersons’ dinner table being served an incredible meal cooked by Elsa, Don’s wife, and swapping stories over a few chilled bottles of Coors.
Anderson was born October 25, 1927 in Redondo Beach to Gorley and Gertrude Anderson. He joined the Navy in 1947 and was honorably discharged in 1948 as an aviation machinist. He received a WWII victory medal and an American Area Campaign Medal for his service. After the service, he served as a Los Angeles County lifeguard for 20 years. But he remained a consummate water man. In 1989, at age 62, he received the Lifeguard Medal of Valor for rescuing a surfer caught in big surf under the Hermosa Beach pier.
Anderson was also an American Airlines pilot from 1953 to 1987. During a flight into Newark, New Jersey, in the early 1980s, his DC-10 lost the wheels on its starboard landing gear. Anderson safely landed the plane in a shower of sparks from the stub of the landing gear grinding into the runway.
“That was no big deal,” he said characteristically. “The worst part was a passenger worried about her dog in the cargo hold.”
Anderson was a man who truly believed you can do anything you set your mind to as long as you are willing to work.
He is survived by his wife, Elsa May (Scott) Anderson, daughter Gail Christine (Anderson) Lynam, grandson Michael Brant Hume, granddaughter Lindsay Helen (Partridge) Forscht, great-granddaughter McKenna Kathryn Young, and great grandson Liam Callaghan Young. A paddle out service will be held at Rocky Point on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, on Saturday, January 21 at 4 p.m. In lieu of flowers please send a donation to the Boys Town charity at Boystown.org or the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor at pacificaviationmuseum.org. ER
