Edwards, Rex W. Papers

Airman, U.S. Air Force, 1949-1952.

The papers of Rex W. Edwards consist of more than 140 letters he wrote to his parents while he was serving in the Air Force before and during the Korean War, as well as a few other items.

Size: About 600 pages. 
Access: Open. 
Copyright: The donor gave to the U.S. government her copyright interest in this material. Documents created by U.S. government officials in the course of their duties are in the public domain. Copyright interest in other documents presumably belongs to the creators of those documents, or their heirs.
Processed by: Randy Sowell (2024).
 

Rex W. Edwards joined the U.S. Air Force in April 1949. He received training as a mechanic and electrician at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas and at Chanute Air Force Base in Illinois. He was subsequently stationed at Hill Air Force Base in Utah. Following the outbreak of the Korean War, Edwards was transferred to Feamcon Air Force Base in Tachikawa, Japan, and served there almost continuously from October 1950 to October 1952. His work involved aircraft maintenance and the repair of other equipment. Edwards attained the rank of sergeant prior to his discharge from the Air Force later in 1952.

The papers of Rex W. Edwards consist of more than 140 letters he wrote to his parents while he was serving in the Air Force before and during the Korean War, as well as a few other items. Although he was not directly involved in combat, Edwards’s military service was profoundly affected by the war. His enlistment was extended for approximately six months, and he was transferred to an air base in Japan, where he was responsible for the maintenance of aircraft that were taking part in the conflict. In his letters to his parents, who lived in Michigan, Edwards relates his experiences, and often expresses his frustration with certain aspects of life as an enlisted man in the Air Force. During his last year of service, Edwards received a new assignment that involved repair work at various bases in the Far East. One of his trips took him to South Korea, where he observed the effects of the war first-hand.

Related collections at the Truman Library include the records of the Center for the Study of the Korean War, the papers of Edward B. LeMaster, and the Korean War Collection.