Floyd McKinley Boone was born on March 29, 1899 in Buncombe County, North Carolina. Boone was an automobile machinist in Asheville, North Carolina, when he enlisted in the 1st North Carolina National Guard in May 1917 for service during World War I. He was transferred to the 55th Depot Brigade and later to Company A of the 105th Engineers, which unit he served with until he deserted from the service while at Camp Sevier, South Carolina, in October 1917. He died in Washington, D.C. in October 1967.