OBITUARY: CPL John E. Edwinson, Jr., 21

Below is an obituary from Nichols Funeral Home:

WILMINGTON, MA — United States Marine Corporal John E. Edwinson, Jr., a Wilmington, MA, native, age 21 at the time of his death, was killed in action during WWII on September 24, 1942, when his unit was ambushed at Guadalcanal.

John was born in Lowell, MA, on March 17, 1921; he was the cherished son of the late John E. Sr. and Vera M. (Britton) Edwinson and the eldest of six siblings. John was raised and educated in Wilmington and a graduate of Wilmington High School with the Class of 1938. John and his family lived on Taplin Ave.; he along with his siblings and friends spent many summers swimming at Silver Lake or skating in the winters. John lost his mom in 1936 at the age of 15; always the responsible one he stepped up to help his dad raise his younger siblings. John and his brothers also worked hard alongside their father who was a stone mason; they constructed countless stone and block foundations around town, they also did stonework at the Wildwood Cemetery, and following World War II John’s dad and brothers did the block foundation for the VFW Hall on Main Street in Wilmington, to honor all fallen or disabled Veterans.

John was the beloved brother of the late Christine Holland and her husband Marion, the late Merlin Edwinson and his wife Harriet, the late Sarah Carter and her husband Charles, the late Carl Edwinson and his wife Harriet, and the late Dottie Blaha and her husband John. He is survived by three generations of nieces and nephews and their families.

John enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. on October 22, 1940; he was proud to join the War efforts going on across the country and do his part to keep America safe. In 1942 he was serving with Company A, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment on Samoa, they were undertaking jungle warfare training, when his platoon was called up as reinforcements. The Seventh Marine Regiment under the command of Lt. Colonel Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller landed on Guadalcanal on September 18, 1942, to reinforce the beleaguered 1st Marine Division commanded by General Alexander A. Vandegrift. On September 24, 1942, six days after arriving on Guadalcanal the First Battalion, 7th Marines departed from the Lunga Perimeter and headed out into Guadalcanal’s backcountry. General Vandegrift ordered the Regiment to conduct patrols southwest toward Mount Austen and west to the Matanikau River in the Japanese held area of the island. After an exhausting day-long hike, the battalion reached a stream bed and began searching for a suitable bivouac; as Edwinson’s platoon was patrolling along a Japanese held roadway in the jungle foothills, the point unit was ambushed by Japanese machine gun fire. The ensuing firefight cost the lives of ten Marines and gravely wounded an additional two dozen men. Facing difficult terrain, Lt. Col. Puller ordered his men to carry the wounded back to the perimeter and the following day they returned to bury their fallen comrades interring them in Hills X and Y. Cpl. Edwinson was interred alongside several of his fellow Marines in the graves on Hill Y.

Although many ensuing searches went on during 1947 and 1949 the search teams were unable to locate these graves. Search efforts went on throughout the years and in early 2016 a Recovery Team unearthed military issued artifacts and a dog tag that was consistent with another missing Marine that was reportedly buried at Hill Y. Searches continued through the years, more remains were unearthed, and on September 11, 2024, the remains of Corporal John E. “Eddie” Edwinson, Jr., were positively identified.

John’s family never gave up hope for his recovery and his return to their hometown; his siblings continued to communicate with the Marine Corps. and stayed on top of retrieving information every time there was a new development in the search efforts. Unfortunately, none of his siblings lived long enough to see him recovered, but they instilled that sense of duty and family into their children to continue the search. The family was thrilled to get the phone call that his remains were identified and they started planning his return home to Wilmington and lay him to rest with his parents.

John gave the ultimate sacrifice for our Country and now it is time that we as a community welcome him home and return him to his family.

All are welcome to gather at the Nichols Funeral Home, 187 Middlesex Ave. (Rte. 62), Wilmington, MA, on Saturday, April 26th for Visitation from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon with a Service at 12:00 noon. John will be interred with Military Honors in the family lot at Wildwood Cemetery in Wilmington, MA, all are welcome to gather along Wildwood Street between Nichols Funeral Home and Wildwood Cemetery at 12:30 p.m. as we honor our hometown Hero. (Parking will be available at Wilmington High School, Wilmington Fourth of July Building, St. Thomas Church, The Arts Center, and the Wilmington Congregational Church).