Year: 1934
Berry Edwards was born around 1895 in southwestern Virginia. Before entering military service, he worked as a coal miner, a demanding and dangerous profession that shaped much of the region’s early twentieth-century workforce. In 1918, following the United States’ entry into World War I, Edwards enlisted in the United States Army. He was assigned to the 6th Pioneer Infantry, a unit responsible for construction, engineering, and logistical labor essential to supporting combat operations. Like many soldiers of the era, he trained at Camp Sherman in Chillicothe, Ohio, one of the Army’s major mobilization camps during the war. Although his military service was brief, it coincided with a period of rapid expansion and intense preparation as American forces readied for overseas deployment. By the end of his service, Edwards returned to southwestern Virginia and relocated to Roanoke in December 1918, as soldiers across the country transitioned back into civilian life. Berry Edwards died on May 17, 1934, from pneumonia—an illness that remained a serious and often fatal threat in the decades following the war. He is buried at Old Lick Cemetery in Roanoke, Virginia. He is remembered as one of many working-class Americans who served during World War I and returned home to resume lives shaped by labor, endurance, and community.
Notes / sources: Private Berry Edwards is also documented through the Everyday Patriot Project