Frank L. Anders

Frank LaFayette Anders (November 10, 1875 – January 23, 1966) was a United States Army soldier who received the Medal of Honor for actions during the Philippine–American War. He went on to become a noteworthy engineer, businessman, amateur military historian and politician.

Early years
Anders was born in Fort Abraham Lincoln, Dakota Territory, in what is now Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park, North Dakota. His father, formerly a Union Army soldier died of complications related to his wounds in 1890, and Anders, at age 15 began work with the Northern Pacific Railroad and became a machinist.

Active service and war years
In 1894 Anders enlisted in the National Guard and after starting his second enlistment was deployed to the Philippines.

Medal and citation


On May 13, 1899, Anders was one of 11 men later awarded the medal for actions which took place against the Philippine Rebels. These men, part of Young's Scouts, caused 300 members of the enemy to retreat before their sudden charge. Anders' medal was officially awarded on March 3, 1906. Citation: "With 11 other scouts, without waiting for the supporting battalion to aid them or to get into a position to do so, charged over a distance of about 150 yd and completely routed about 300 of the enemy who were in line and in a position that could only be carried by a frontal attack."

Post-war service and death
After returning to the United States in 1899, he worked for mining interests and in 1902, armed with only a seventh grade education and a few months at Dakota Business College (1895), he decided to attend Ripon College and after graduation in 1906 he became the first person awarded a scholarship by the University of Wisconsin–Madison where he studied Civil Engineering and was initiated into Acacia fraternity in 1907, and was chief engineer with Utah Smelting Corporation from 1909 until 1920.

In 1918, he was commissioned a captain in the Corps of Engineers and stationed in Fort Dodge, Iowa. In 1919 he was transferred to Fort Riley, where he was in charge of hospitals and also served in Washington, D.C., and at the Henry Ford Hospital in Michigan.

Major Anders died in 1966, and was the oldest surviving recipient of the Medal of Honor at his death.

Marriage and personal life
In 1910, Anders married Mary Bertha Hargrave and had two children, Franklin and Marion.