James Richard "Sandy" Sanderson (b. abt 1926 - 10 Aug 2010) was a United States Navy Vice Admiral. He was born in Selma, California and died in Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Portsmouth, Virginia; he had lived in Virginia Beach, Virginia for a long time. His commands included; commanding officer of USS Rainier (AE-5), USS Saratoga (CV-60), and Battle Force, United States Sixth Fleet; and Deputy Commander Atlantic Command, Atlantic Fleet. He joined the entered the Navy Aviation V-5 program in 1943 (some say March 1944) and retired from the Navy in April 1983.