Mr. Edwards was born on March 10, 1922 in Tupelo, Lee County, Mississippi to Jessie Gregg Edwards and Cecil E. Edwards.

After being enlisted in the Army, he served for a time with Company C, 4th Engineering Battalion Combat Engineers. Shortly before his death he requested a transfer to the Combat Engineeing Battalion of the 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division.

He was in first wave of D-Day invasion as a combat engineer and was a member of a team trained to de-activate explosives. He saw action in France, Luxembourg, Belgium and Germany. He was wounded twice, once severely, but returned to action. He was promoted in the field to Staff Sergeant but died before the promotion reached headquarters

He was killed in action during the Battle of the Bulge on November 27, 1944 in the Hurtgen Forest, Germany.

He was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously.

His body was originally buried in the U.S. Military Cemetery Henri Chappell, in Belgium and was returned for burial in West Point after the war.