Darwin E. Edson
Born August 20, 1920, in Gothenburg, Nebraska to Elmer and Selma Edson.
Died April 26, 2006, in Gothenburg, Nebraska.
Army Air Corp – Glider Pilot
84th Base HQ & AB Sq AAF, Army
Trained at the Lubbock Army Flying School, Lubbock TX
Flew the WACO CG-4A "Hadrian"
The CG-4A was the most widely used US Troop/Cargo glider of WW II. Flight testing began in 1942 and eventually more than 12,000 CG-4A's were precured.
The glider was constructed of fabric-covered wood and metal and was crewed by a pilot and co-pilot. It could carry 13 troops and the equipment or either a jeep, a quarter-ton truck, or a 75mm howitzer loaded through the upward hinged nose section. They were towed by either a C-46 or C-47. Flight missions were at night and the towed glider would be cut loose to land behind enemy lines to provide support for advancing troops.
The gliders went into operation in July 1943 during the allied invasion of Sicily. They participated in the D-Day assault on France on June 6, 1944, and other important airborne operations in Europe and the China-Burma-India Theater.
Gliders were generally considered expendable in combat and were abandoned or destroyed after landing. If the pilots survived the landing, they survived on their own until the advancing troops arrived.
After his military service, Darwin returned to Gothenburg to farm. He married Eunice Anderson from Gothenburg in 1946 and had four children – Sandra, Dee, Dale, and Dean. Wife Eunice passed March 5, 2003. Son Dale passed away in 1955 at one month of age. Daughter Sandra passed April 2, 2021, at the age of 72.
