Eddie had just returned from a movie on the afternoon of December 7, 1941 when he heard the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor. This was in his hometown of Robert Lee Texas.
He enlisted in the Army Air Corps on July 8, 1944 at the age of 17.
Edie was eventually assigned to Co. A, 1075th AAF BU at Miami Beach Florida.
He also spent time in Coral Gables Florida at the Miami Biltmore Army Hospital. He was then transferred to Fitzsimmons Army Hospital at Lowry Field, Colorado.
Eddie said that he enlisted in the Air Corps to become a pilot or a crewman on a bomber. However during the middle of 1944 there was a surplus of pilots and aircrew. So as often happened during WWII, Uncle Sam sent you where you were most needed, not just where one wanted to serve. Eddie was a clerk typist 055 in the Final Discharge Section.
This is a great example of a member of the military doing his or her job to their utmost ability in the service of their country. As in today’s military, not all of the jobs were glamorous, but they were all important to make the American war machine function properly during wartime.
After his discharge in 1947, Eddie graduated under the GI Bill from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in petroleum engineering.
Eddie received the WWII Victory Medal, and the American Theater Medal.
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