GOODMAN — At 102 years old, James Anderson has one piece of advice.
“All I know is love one another and be good to each other,” he said.
The centenarian was born in rural Sallis, in central Mississippi’s Attala County, on Sept. 18, 1923, the seventh of eight children. His father was a sharecropper, and he spent his childhood farming with his family and went to school part-time.
Anderson now lives in Goodman in Holmes County. One of his daughters, Dorothy Falls, is retired and takes care of him. His home is right next to his two-acre garden and a restaurant owned by his son Ricky, called Rick’s Drive Inn. Anderson still spends time in his garden.
James Anderson at his Goodman home with his daughter Dorothy Falls. Anderson, who went through Army basic and combat training in 1943, said to all those who have served and those currently serving, he thanks them for their service and wishes them a blessed Veterans Day. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi TodayIn 1943, Anderson was sent to Fort Eustis in Virginia for training after being drafted to the Army during World War II.
He said he spent six months in basic training and combat training. However, he was discharged after training and never saw combat. To this day, he doesn’t know why.
“They shipped everybody out but me,” he said. “I never did understand it. They didn’t tell me nothing. They just gave me a discharge.”
Anderson’s experience in training does provide him with a respect of the military. He said he wanted to express his appreciation to all veterans as they are honored on the national holiday.
After training, Anderson returned to being a farmer while also taking on various jobs across the country to support his wife, Annie Lou, and their eight children. He and Annie Lou married the same year he went to training.
James Anderson, 102, at his Goodman home. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi TodayAnderson’s jobs spanned from Memphis to Chicago and more. But he has always come back to his home state.
“I guess I like Mississippi better than I did anywhere else,” he said.
Anderson became a custodian and later bus driver at Goodman-Pickens Elementary School, retiring in 2005. He was ordained as a deacon in 1947. Annie Lou passed away in 1993, after 73 years of marriage.
In 2023, the year Anderson turned 100 years old, the Mississippi House of Representatives adopted a resolution to honor him for his service.
The resolution says Anderson “shot the (large) 40MM guns and remained a steadfast and brave soldier for the United States of America.”
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