Daniel Richmond Edwards

Major, U.S. Army

Medal of Honor Recipient

World War I

Major Daniel Richmond Edwards (9 April 1897 - 21 October 1967) was a U.S. Army officer who received the U.S. military's highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor, for his heroic actions during World War I. He was also awarded the second highest medal for valor, the Distinguished Service Cross.

Daniel Richmond Edwards was born on 9 April 1897 in Mooreville, TX, and graduated from the Columbia University School of Journalism. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on the day the U.S. entered World War I. He was sent to France as a member of the U.S. 1st Infantry Division, where he performed the actions that earned him the Medal of Honor.

Medal of Honor

Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company C, 3d Machine Gun Battalion, 1st Division.

Place and date: Near Soissons, France, 18 July 1918.

Citation: Reporting for duty from hospital where he had been for several weeks under treatment for numerous and serious wounds and although suffering intense pain from a shattered arm, he crawled alone into an enemy trench for the purpose of capturing or killing enemy soldiers known to be concealed therein. He killed 4 of the men and took the remaining 4 men prisoners; while conducting them to the rear one of the prisoners was killed by a high explosive enemy shell which also completely shattered 1 of Pfc. Edwards' legs, causing him to be immediately evacuated to the hospital. The bravery of Pfc. Edwards, now a tradition in his battalion because of his previous gallant acts, again caused the morale of his comrades to be raised to high pitch.

Daniel Edwards later became a commissioned officer and was a Major when he left the Army.

Edwards married and lived in the Bronx after the war, where he was a member of the Come-Back Club, an organization for disabled and returning veterans.

Medals and Awards

Medal of Honor
Distinguished Service Cross
Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster

Death and Burial

Private First Class Daniel Richmond Edwards died on 21 October 1967. He is buried at Cunningham Cemetery in Royal, AR.