26-04-2025
Wilmington marine killed in World War II to be laid to rest
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
His body was returned with a police escort to Wilmington on Thursday, with several residents lining the street in respect, according to video broadcast by WCVB-TV.
A public wake will be held on Saturday, from 10 a.m. to noon at Nichols Funeral Home in Wilmington. A service will follow at noon. He will be interred with military honors in the family lot at Wildwood Cemetery at 12:30 p.m., according to a
Edwinson was born in Lowell and was the oldest of six children. His family later moved to Wilmington, where he graduated from high school in 1938.
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He first worked as a stonemason with his father, before enlisting in the Marines in 1940. He was serving on Samoa in 1942, undertaking jungle warfare training, when his platoon was called up as reinforcements for the beleaguered 1st Marine Division.
Edwinson's platoon was patrolling along a Japanese-held roadway in the jungle foothills when the point unit was ambushed by Japanese machine gun fire, his obituary said. Edwinson and nine others were killed in the battle, and another two dozen were wounded.
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He was buried on a hill alongside other members of his unit. Searches for the remains of the fallen Marines were conducted, but Edwinson was declared non-recoverable in 1950, according to the agency.
The government conducted searches 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.
Additional remains were unearthed. Edwinson's remains were positively identified on Sept. 11, 2024, the agency said.
Adam Sennott can be reached at
