Pvt Floyd Anderson

Our Hometown Heroes

Floyd Anderson

From the Farm to the Battlefield

Floyd Anderson was only 21 years old when he was drafted to fight in World War 1. Farm labor life was all Floyd had known. Born June 1, 1896, Anderson would be drafted as a Private in the U.S. Army. Reporting to Camp Wheeler for training, Anderson would trade his plow for a rifle.

Floyd would not come back to the land he loved. Anderson along with millions of others, would contract pneumonia and spinal meningitis, now known of as the dreaded Spanish Flu plaque. Anderson died of the disease on October 27, 1918. His mother, Mandy Haley Anderson, who lived along Route 6, Griffin, was notified of her son’s death. Floyd was black and was not listed on the World War I Monument, forgotten until now.

This changed during the Memorial Day weekend, May 29-30, 2016 as Anderson and other, “Lost and Forgotten,” World War I soldiers were honored with individual plaques and their names on the Veterans Memorial Park “Doughboy” statue. Thanks to efforts of Griffin Archivist Cynthia Barton, the Veterans Military Affairs and Honor our KIA committees, Pvt. Anderson is now remembered as one of Griffin-Spalding’s Hometown Heroes.

An individual plaque honoring Floyd Anderson will be installed in Griffin’s Historic District sponsored by Catherine and Jack Odom.