Floyd Irvy Beach

Floyd Irvy Beach grew up in North Lee and was a 1964 graduate of Fort Madison Community High School. In 1967 Beach married a girl from the neighboring rural town of Farmington. The following year he was drafted by the Army. SGT Beach completed infantry training and was sent to South Vietnam in November 1969 with the 101st Airborne Division. Less than 5 weeks into his tour SGT Beach was wounded in action. He sustained gunshot wounds to his right side and head when an enemy force attacked his unit’s position at night. On Christmas Eve 1969 SGT Beach died from his injuries in a military hospital. His body was returned to Iowa and was buried on a snowy afternoon in the rural Fairview Cemetery outside of North Lee. He was 23 years old at the time of his death.