Curtis Edwards
Curtis Edwards (1922 - 1999) in a photo taken over seas. Curtis is the thirteenth child of Garland "Bruce" Edwards and Aily Hay. He is the grandson of Brice Hamilton Edwards and Sarah "Sally" Hay.
Curtis served in the United State Army during WWII from March 31, 1943 to January 3, 1946. He spent just over a year and 4 months in Central Europe (France, Italy, England and Germany). He was a Private First Class having served with Battery B, 681st Glider
Field Artillery Battalion with the 17th Airborne Division. His decorations and citations included: Good Conduct Medal, American Theater Ribbon,
European African Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon with Bronze Arrowhead, World War II Victory Ribbon and the Purple Heart Medal.
This is how he earned his Purple Heart: He was a part of Operation Varsity, the last major airborne operation of WWII. And so, sitting in a
jeep, inside a glider, he came through the heaviest concentration of antiaircraft fire experienced in all airborne operations. His glider went
down after crossing the Rhine on March 24, 1945. It is not known if enemy fire caused the crash. It was for injuries he sustained in this crash that
he was awarded the Purple Heart.
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