2Mar1920 – 17Sep1945
Edison Days
Edward graduated with the Class of June 1940. He participated in interclass basketball.
Military Service
Rate: Boatswain’s Mate Second Class
Branch: United States Navy Reserve
Ship: USS YMS-472
It appears that Edward may have initially be a member of the Merchant Marines as records indicate that he was at the U.S. Maritime Training Center on Hoffman Island in New York City, New York in January 1942.
Records also indicate that he transitioned from the Merchant Marines to the Navy Reserve on 25Mar1942.
His first ship was the USS YMS-28, a small mine sweeper.
Edward and the crew of the YMS-28 operated in the Mediterranean, supporting major Allied amphibious invasions at Salerno, Italy and Anzio, Italy by clearing mines to allow landing craft and larger ships to approach beaches safely. In October 1944 the YMS-28 was transferred to France, and it is likely that Edward became an original crewmember of the USS YMS-472 which was commissioned on 10November1944.
Assigned to the Pacific Theater, YMS-472 did not arrive until the war with Japan had ended. She operated in support of postwar minesweeping and occupation efforts around Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands. Its primary role involved clearing naval mines to make waters safe for shipping, a critical and hazardous task in the closing months of the war and immediate aftermath.
On 17Sep1945, while operating off the coast of Okinawa, Typhoon Ida struck. YMS-428 floundered and eventually sunk. Edward and the other 32 crewmembers were lost at sea.
In March 1946 Edward was declared dead by the Navy.
Edward’s is one of 18,095 World War II service members missing from the Pacific Theater whose names are inscribed on the Honolulu Memorial at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii.
There is also a memorial marker (cenotaph) for Edward at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Edison Heroes 