by Andrew Tucker

Floyd Bishop was born on July 4, 1892 in Mapleton, Hereford County, North Carolina. His mother was Margaret Gadden, and his father was Richard Bishop. Floyd was an African-American Man, a United States Citizen, and a registered voter. Growing up, Floyd’s denomination was with the Baptist Church. Bishop remained in school until reaching the fourth grade, his highest level of education achieved. Prior to his military service, Floyd’s occupation was a chef, working for the Merchants and Miner Steamship Company. At the outbreak of World War I, and the United States involvement in the conflict, Floyd chose to enlist into the United States Army.

Floyd’s own motivations for choosing to enlist, were that he as a United States Citizen, was entitled to serve in the armed forces, as would any other citizen. His own words were “so long as my country needed me, I was willing to serve”, thus, he chose to serve. Another motivation as to why he chose to serve his country, was not only to fight for his country, but to fight for colored people’s democracy. Floyd believed strongly in doing his part to achieve honor and respect for African-Americans throughout the United States. Floyd mentions that what he had to endure during his time in training was detrimental to his physical and mental health, as he felt such training actually undermined his strength. His Military occupational specialty( MOS) was combat engineer. Floyd reported to his first duty station shortly after his enlistment, and per his respective MOS, he was assigned to Bravo Company, 540th Engineer Regiment. Bravo Company deployed in support of U. S. Operations in Europe, arriving in France. Neither Bravo Company, nor Floyd, engaged in direct combat operations. Despite not experiencing combat, Floyd still felt strongly that he would have a difficult time recovering from both the physical and mental hardship brought about by military life in World War I. A notable achievement during his service was the award of the Victory Service Medal.

Floyd was discharged as a Private First Class(E-2), from active duty at Camp Lee, VA following the end of WWI. He moved to Norfolk, VA and resided at 205 East Bute Street Norfolk, VA. After moving to Norfolk, he met a woman by the name of Estelle Rogers. He married Estelle after some time, and they married on January 21, 1932. They divorced on March 21, 1938, in Norfolk.

He died at the age of 60 In the City of Norfolk on Dec 10,1952 and is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Norfolk.

Works Cited

Floyd Bishop (1892-1952) – find a Grave Memorial. (n.d.). Retrieved May 14, 2021, from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/189664880/floyd-bishop

Floyd Bishop -Vital • Virginia Marriages. (n.d.). Retrieved May 14, 2021, from https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XRMR-KNT

FromThePage.com. (n.d.). Bishop, Floyd. Retrieved May 10, 2021, from https://fromthepage.com/lva/norfolk-va/bishop-floyd/display/644996

FromThePage.com. (n.d.). 4-Floyd Bishop. Retrieved May 10, 2021, from https://fromthepage.com/lva/norfolk-va/bishop-floyd/display/644999