Floyd Brantley of Conway, a World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War veteran with more than a century of service, is the November Face of Arkansas, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced.
Brantley is the 11th Arkansan featured in Faces of Arkansas, a monthly series that highlights Arkansans whose portraits and stories are displayed at the entrance to the governor’s office at the State Capitol. Each month’s honoree is featured through a written profile, portrait photography and a short video. The series is meant to remind the governor and her team of who they serve every day: the people of Arkansas.
101 Years of Saying Yes
Brantley grew up in Lufkin, Texas. He was still in high school, working on a milk truck before school and at a grocery store after, when he got a notice from the draft board during the peak of World War II. The notice offered to defer his service until he graduated.
Brantley cut the deferment offer off the letter and told his mother, “Mother, I have to go to war.” His family had already lost his brother, C.L., who was killed while serving in the Navy aboard the USS Atlanta at Guadalcanal.
Brantley enlisted in the U.S. Navy in January 1944 and served as a medical corpsman in the Pacific Theater, including the Solomon Islands, New Guinea and Guam.
“We’re living in the greatest country in the world,” Brantley said. “You should thank God every day for that blessing.”
After the war, he returned to Lufkin High School at age 20 and graduated in 1947, becoming the 1st in his family to earn a high school diploma.
He went on to Baylor University, joined the Air Force ROTC and was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the Air Force Reserve. During the Korean War, he served as a transportation officer in Pusan, Korea. At 49, he resigned his officer’s commission to enlist in the Arkansas Air National Guard. He retired in 1982 after 22 years of military service.
A 67-Year Marriage
Brantley met Elizabeth “Beth” Pearson at church while he was serving as an usher. He asked her on several dates at once so she wouldn’t have the chance to go out with someone else. The couple married in 1953 and shared 67 years together until Beth’s death in 2020.
Brantley credits their lasting marriage to listening and to understanding one another’s point of view.
Riding Into His 90s
Brantley spent his 90th birthday riding his bicycle down Fifth Avenue in New York City in America’s Parade, pedaling ahead of the World War II float.
“I rode my bicycle up ’til I was 95,” Brantley said. “I was a big, big bike racer.”
In his late 80s, he completed the 20-mile Big Dam Bridge route in 5 hours and 20 minutes.
A Life of Service
In retirement, Brantley volunteered with the American Red Cross, helped with Hurricane Katrina relief, built wheelchair ramps and porches for families in need, and visited schools to share his World War II and Korean War experiences.
He met Governor Sanders on a World War II Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., where he was accompanied by former First Lady Janet Huckabee. In 2024, the governor appointed him to the Arkansas Veterans Commission. When Brantley turned 100 last October, Governor Sanders celebrated with him at the State Capitol and presented a proclamation naming Floyd Brantley Day.
Brantley was named the Arkansas Marine Corps League’s Marine of the Year in 2025.
For his 100th birthday, he received about 400 letters from around the world. “And I wrote ’em all back,” he said.
One of those letters came from a nursing student in Colorado Springs. He later met her by chance in Normandy at the 82nd anniversary of D-Day. She painted him a watercolor picture, and he now gives copies of it to his visitors.
Brantley said faith has guided him through life’s best and hardest moments, including growing up in a dysfunctional family and overcoming a speech impediment.
“I believe they have a purpose for everything in life,” he said. “I’ve been blessed in so many ways, and so every day, I thank God.”
Bonus: Bob Connell Talks With Floyd Brantley
Hear ArkansasRadio.com Radio Stations CEO/Owner Bob Connell talk with Floyd Brantley on Open Mic:
SOURCE: Office of Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Photo: Will Newton.
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