Francis Anderson was born in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. He was a 1941 graduate of Live Oak Street High School, New Smyrna Beach. He enlisted in the Air Corps in October 1942 and took basic training at St Petersburg, Florida. He followed courses at the Aircraft mechanics school in Gulfport, Mississippi from November 1942 to March 1943. Then it was aerial gunnery training at Harlingen, Texas (March-June 1943) and further training in Salt Lake City, Utah and Ephrata, Washington. Assigned as a flight engineer/top turret gunner on B-17s in the 401st Bomb Group/613th Bomb Squadron at Cut Bank, Montana, he and his crew were ready to be processed for overseas movement. The Group left for Scott Field, Illinois on 18 October 1943. From there, Anderson and crew flew to Syracuse, New York. The final departure point was Bangor, Maine, from where they flew to Gander, Newfoundland, Canada, reaching Prestwick, Scotland in late October. In November 1943, Anderson and crew were transferred to the 351st Bomb Group / 510th Bomb Squadron at Polebrook. Francis Anderson was on his 5th mission on 31 December 1943, on board # 42-39823 "Iron Ass", with the Bordeaux airfield as primary target. Due to dense cloud cover over the Bordeaux area, their group proceeded to Cognac, the secondary target. After bombs away, on the flight back, 42-39823 was hit by Flak and its crew bailed out. Anderson landed near Saujon, about 10km NE of Royan on the Atlantic coast. With the help of many French citizens, mostly farmers, he managed to evade capture. Traveling mainly on foot, sometimes by train, towards Spain, he passed through Pons, Gémozac

Bordeaux, Orthez, Ustabat, Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, Lecumberry and finally Arnéguy near the Spanish border where he crossed into Spain and reached Orbaitzeta. Making his way to Saragossa via Pamplona, he passed through Alhama de Aragon. Taken in charge by the British consulate, he was driven to Madrid and from there to Gibraltar where he arrived on 19 February 1944. He left Gibraltar by air, arriving in Bristol, England on the 24th. ESCAPE & EVASION Report # E&E 412.

Debriefed in London, Anderson returned to the US in March 1944. After his discharge from the service in November 1945, he remained active in the Army and Air Force Reserves for 26 years, retiring as a Master Sergeant in 1970. Employed as a locomotive fireman and engineer for the Florida East Coast Railway for 39 years, he retired in November 1987. Francis Anderson was a life member of the Elks Lodge #1557. He was also member of the Florida Chapter of the 8th Air Force Historical Society, of the AFEES (Air Force Escape and Evasion Society) and the 8th Air Force Heritage Museum in Pooler, Savannah, Georgia. Francis Earl Anderson passed away in February 2015.