1LT Edwin A. Felder II

Today we honor and remember 1LT Edwin A. Felder II of the 101st Airborne Division.

First Lieutenant Edwin A. Felder II of Regimental Headquarters Company, 327th Glider Infantry Regiment (GIR), 101st Airborne Division, was born at Temple, Bell County, Texas, to Edwin A. and Irene (Bracewell) Felder on December 6, 1915. Edwin was the youngest of their children. He had one brother, Bill N., and four sisters, Ruth E., Madge B., Lamartine, and Mary Sue Felder.

Ed attended the Polytechnic High School, a public high school located in Fort Worth, Texas. He then studied at Texas A&M University in College Station. After graduating in 1941, he immediately entered the U.S. Army. He had joined the airborne infantry since its creation and was stationed at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, and Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

During this period, he married Helen Connor at an unknown date. LT Felder left New York Harbor with the 327th GIR aboard the SS Samaria, heading towards England, on September 5, 1943. At the time, his wife Helen was pregnant with their first child. Their son Ed was born in Fort Worth on January 5, 1944.

After taking part in the additional training with the 327th in England, LT Felder participated in the D-Day assault into Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944. He was seriously wounded in action during the attack on Carentan on June 11, 1944, and was transported to England for further medical treatment.

Lieutenant Edwin A. Felder would succumb to his wounds in an English hospital, on June 16, 1944. He died at 28 years of age.

Another Screaming Eagle had soared to the ultimate height. 🦅

Beside his parents, brother and sisters, he left behind his wife Helen, and a six-month-old son, Ed A. Felder III, whom LT Felder had never seen. He was buried at the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, Coton, Cambridgeshire, England, at Plot D, Row 6, Grave 61. He was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart Medal.

Happy Birthday in Heaven, Edwin.

Lest we forget! 🇺🇸

The sources used for this article are known to the author and available on request.