Edward D. Osborne

Edward Dewey Osborne was born in York County, South Carolina on October 31, 1921, the son of Edward W. "Doc" Osborne and Elsie Mae McKee Osborne.

He completed six years of grammar school, and left school at the age of 13 to go to work. On December 21, 1941 he married Ruby Hannah Morris. Their daughter Barbara was born in 1942.

Prior to entering military service Edward was employed as a weaver and loom fitter by Highland Park Mill in Rock Hill, South Carolina for seven years.

He was drafted into the Army at Fort Bragg, North Carolina on May 29, 1944. He stood six feet tall and weighed 148 pounds.

He arrived at Camp Blanding, Florida on June 7, 1944 and took his initial training in Company C of the 219th Battalion at the Replacement Training Center (RTC) there.

Company C 219th Battalion at Camp Blanding, Florida 1944.
Red arrow points to Private Edward D. Osborne.

Left:

Edward D. Osborne at
Camp Blanding, Florida
1944

Edward sailed overseas on November 7, 1944 and arrived in the European Theater of Operations on November 20, 1944.

He was one of ten enlisted men assigned to Company D 22nd Infantry 4th Infantry Division from the 92nd Replacement Battalion on November 30, 1944. His MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) was indicated as 504 (Ammunition Handler).

Edward joined his Regiment in the Hürtgen Forest in Germany. He went into battle only ten days after arriving in Europe. On November 30 the 22nd Infantry had just taken the town of Grosshau, and were preparing to attack toward the village of Gey.

Company D was a heavy weapons Company, and Edward’s MOS of 504 meant he was assigned as a member of a heavy machine gun squad.
He, his squad and their gun would have been attached to various Companies in the 1st Battalion, when and where as needed.

He fought, with his Battalion, in the Hürtgen Forest until December 4, 1944, when his Regiment was pulled out of the front lines and sent to Luxembourg for rest and refit. While in Luxembourg he was one of fourteen Privates in Company D who were promoted to Private First Class on December 10, 1944.

On December 22, 1944, in Headquarters 22nd Infantry General Orders # 22, he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, with the effective date of his award personally as December 1, 1944.

He took part in the Battle of the Bulge, from December 16, 1944 through January 25, 1945. In early February 1945 the 22nd Infantry penetrated into Germany again, in the Brandscheid area, and began their attack against the city of Prüm. On February 9, 1945 Edward was one of three enlisted men in Company D who became non-battle casualties, and were removed from the front lines and sent to a forward medical facility.

He rejoined his unit in time to take part in the fighting on the east side of the Prüm River. By then he had become a gunner of one of his Company’s heavy machine guns. On March 4, 1945 Edward was wounded during the action in or around the village of Schwirzheim, Germany. A bullet smashed into his left hand, causing compound fractures and deformity of several of his fingers. (In March 1946 he was awarded a pension from the Veterans Administration for his injuries.)

Edward was removed from the front lines and sent to the 297th General Hospital in England. He received a Purple Heart for his wounds, in Headquarters 297th General Hospital General Orders Number 14 dated April 5, 1945.

Edward never returned to the 22nd Infantry. He was invalided back to the United States on May 28, 1945, and spent considerable time in a stateside hospital, undergoing recovery and rehabilitation. He was discharged from the Army at the Separation Center at Camp Gordon, Georgia on February 6, 1946.

Right:

Clipping from local newspaper
in 1945 announcing the return
of Edward D. Osborne

He returned to Rock Hill, York County, South Carolina and went back to his trade as a loom fixer in the cotton cloth industry. Edward and Ruby had a son Gerald, who was born in 1948.

Edward then owned and operated Ed’s Exxon Station. He had a heart attack at the age of 58 and died at Mercy Hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina on January 19, 1980.

Edward D. Osborne is buried in Sunset Memory Gardens, Mint Hill, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.

This article was prepared with the assistance of Tracy Beatty, granddaughter of Edward D. Osborne.
Tracy is devoted to honoring the memory of her grandfather’s life and service.
Photos courtesy of Tracy Beatty unless otherwise noted.