Fallen Soldier: Michael C. Anderson

Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael C. Anderson, 36, of Daytona, Florida, was assigned to the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 14, based out of Jacksonville, Florida. About 400 of the battalion’s 700 sailors were in Iraq on a humanitarian mission, repairing roads, bridges, water, and power plants. The sailors were better known as “Seabees,” their motto being, “we build, we fight.” On May 2, 2004, PO2 Anderson was one of five sailors killed by hostile fire in Anbar province, Iraq.

A 1986 graduate of Oshkosh North High School, he and his wife, Karen, were just getting ready to celebrate their 8th wedding anniversary. Anderson’s daughter, Brandi, said. “I remember things like playing sports in the yard, playing Pretty, Pretty Princess, where the rings barely fit his large knuckles, and watching television together; we were inseparable.

“My dad was a Navy Seabee who followed their motto ‘Can Do’ in every aspect of his life. One thing my dad taught me very early on was ‘never give up’.

Anderson’s daughter is a Folds of Honor Scholarship recipient.