Floyd Hoskins (1912-2000) was born 1912 in Colorado. At the age of two his family moved to Iowa to work on a farm. He graduated high school in 1930 and enlisted in the U.S. Navy. The U.S. Navy gave him the opportunity to escape the economic hardships of the Great Depression. In 1932 he was stationed in Hawaii and trained as a ship’s engineer. While stationed in Hawaii, he taught himself Japanese. On December 7, 1941 he was aboard the USS Saratoga in the Bay of San Diego. The USS Saratoga was one of the first U.S. naval ships to respond to the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. During WW II he served as the Chief Engineer on the USS Saratoga. He also served as the Executive Officer on the USS Callaghan. At the Battle of Okinawa the USS Callaghan was hit by a Japanese kamikaze and sunk. Hoskins and half of the crew were able to survive by using life rafts. He was later reassigned to the USS Rowan. Hoskins was awarded a Purple Heart and the Silver Star during World War II.

After the completion of World War II Hoskins continued to serve in the Navy and he spent 1946 as part of the Allied occupation of Japan. He then returned to the U.S. where he joined the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). He studied Russian and he was a part of various covert operations in Eastern Europe. He was simultaneously in the Navy and the CIA. He spent a year as the Commander of the USS Glennon in the 1950s. He retired from the Navy in 1959.

In the 1960s Hoskins moved to Florida where he started a successful real estate business. He also studied history at Florida State University. West Georgia College (presently the University of West Georgia) hired him as a professor of Asian history in 1971. During this time he became friends with the future congressman Newt Gingrich. Hoskins and Gingrich continued a friendship and correspondence for the rest of Hoskins’ life. After leaving West Georgia College, Hoskins worked as a gemologist. He remained socially active and became president of the Kiwanis International. He also served on the U.S. Military Academies Appointment Board under Congressmen Newt Gingrich and Bob Barr.

He died from lung cancer in 2000.