US Army Private Albert Anderson was born in Pineville, Santa Rosa County, Florida on April 15, 1890, the son of John (1833-) and Lucinda Anderson (1860-1918). His parents had married in 1876 and John spent his lifetime supporting his family as a farmer. By 1910, Lucinda was a widow, and renting a house in Bagdad, Florida. She had no visible means of support except for her son Albert who had taken a job at the local sawmill. Also, she still had a ten-year old son, Joseph at home to care for as well. Another income was a widowed boarder by the name of Thomas Briggs (1855-) who worked with Albert at the sawmill. In fact, three years later Lucinda and Thomas were married on March 22, 1913, in Milton. After America entered WWI, the nation had to scramble to field an army and a navy. In the beginning the recruitment stations were filled with patriotic volunteers but it wasn't enough. The draft was finally initiated bringing more and more men into the armed forces. One of those was Albert who was inducted into the US Army on August 3, 1918.
After basic training, he was assigned to Company "B" of the 546th Engineers Service Battalion and sent to Camp Devens, Massachusetts. The Battalion had been mustered into service there in August and was shipped out on September 18 for Camp Humphreys, Virginia. This camp was built on the Potomac River near Mount Vernon in January 1918. By May, it was designated as an engineer replacement and training camp. After completing their training, Albert and his company were sent to Camp Merritt, New Jersey to await transportation to Europe. When their turn came, they were sent to Hoboken, NJ where they boarded the SS Scotian and sailed to Liverpool, England on September 25, 1918. After their seagoing voyage, the ship pulled into Liverpool on October 7. En route to England, thousands of men were crammed into the small living compartments aboard ship. This was an ideal environment for the Spanish Influenza, which was highly contagious. Unfortunately Albert was one of the men that fell victim to it. After suffering a brief period, he died on October 4 and was stowed away until they arrived at their destination. His wife Rosa was contacted at her home at 518 West Government Street and notified of his death.
With that being said, this is where the mystery comes in. Albert's ship did not arrive in Liverpool until October 7, 1918, and Albert passed away from pneumonia on October 4. This would be considered a "DNB" or "Death Non Battle." Yet he is buried in the Suresnes American Cemetery outside Paris and listed as "Missing in Action," which indicates a battle death. Other records list him as "DOW or Death of Wounds." Also, if he died en route to Liverpool, it is doubtful that he would be shipped to Paris, France for burial rather than buried in England. Regardless, he died in the service of his country and his name is honored on the "Tablets of the Missing" in Paris, France.
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