Edward Graham Coward

Edward Graham Coward. Image Source: Agromeck 1942, Student yearbook for North Carolina State College.

Edward Graham Coward was born in Ayden, N.C. on November 5, 1919, to John H. Coward (1887-1947), Pitt County auditor, and his wife Blanche Cannon Coward (1888-1986). He graduated from Ayden High School and then studied at ECTC as a freshman in 1937. Coward later graduated from North Carolina State College, Class of 1942. At State, he was a Pi Kappa Phi and served as president of the fraternity his senior year.

In 1942, Coward volunteered in the Army Air Corp and then was inducted in December. He began his training at the Pre-Flight Training School in Santa Ana, California, and continued it at Mather Field as an aviation cadet in the 668 Navigation Group Army Air Corps. While in training, he developed a serious kidney illness that led to his death, age 23, in Sacramento, California, at the Maher Field Hospital, July 29, 1943, due to uremic poisoning.

Coward’s body was returned for burial in the Ayden Cemetery. In the 1946 Tecoan and in the 1953 dedicatory ceremonies for ECTC’s Memorial Gymnasium, Coward was remembered as an ECTC alumni who had died in service to his county.

Sources:

• “Cadet Edward Coward.” News and Observer. August 6, 1943. P. 14.
• “Eastern North Carolina Soldiers Who Gave Their Lives Listed.” News and Observer. June 27, 1946. P. 12.
• “Edward Graham Coward.” Sacramento Bee. July 30, 1943. P. 17.
• “Final Service Planned For Edward C. Coward: Aviation Cadet Died in Government Hospital; Former Student at State.” News and Observer. August 3, 1943. P. 11.
• “Freshmen.” Tecoan. 1937. P. 122. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/15342
• “Grimaldi Leads Tar Heels to 79-66 Victory Over East Carolina: Bucs Handed First Defeat, Pirates Put Up Fight Against Southern Conference Team.” News and Observer. January 7, 1953. P. 17.
• “In Memory.” Tecoan. 1946. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/15351

Related Materials

Edward Graham Coward’s Draft Registration Card. Image Source: U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947. Ancestry.com.

U.S. Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1970. Provided in association with National Archives and Records Administration from Ancestry.com

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