Edward F. Drew Jr.
Edward F. Drew Jr. of Collingswood, NJ.
Rank: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Serial Number: O-1324469
Hometown: Collingswood, New Jersey
Killed in Action: , Belgium
Buried: Plot A-O-10, Beverly National Cemetery, Beverly, New Jersey
Awards: Purple Heart
First Lieutenant Edward F. Drew Jr. was a 1937 graduate of Collingswood High School. Prior to entering the service he was an editorial employee of the Camden Courier-Post.
Edward Drew entered the Army in May of 1942 at Fort Dix. He completed his basic training at Camp Croft, SC, and remained there as a company clerk. Promoted to Private First Class and then Corporal, on February 16, 1943, he married Catherine Bauer.
On the recommendation of his commanding officer, Edward Drew was selected to attend Officers Candidate School at Fort Benning, GA in May of 1943, where he was the fourth highest in his graduating class. Lieutenant Drew was then sent to instructors school at Camp Wheeler, GA, and after his graduation there took an assignment at Camp Blanding, being promoted to First Lieutenant shortly afterward.
After a Thanksgiving furlough, Edward Drew received his overseas orders in December of 1944, reporting to Fort Meade, MD, where he was commanding officer of the group of men being sent to Europe as replacements. He was sent immediately into combat upon arrival, participating in the Battle of the Bulge. In his last letter home, he wrote that he had attended Mass on New Year’s Eve in Belgium.
Edward Drew Jr. was killed in action on January 13, 1945, near Liège, Belgium. He was survived by his wife, Catherine Bauer Drew, of 243 Crestmont Terrace, Collingswood, NJ. Besides his widow he was survived by his mother, Mrs. Mabel Drew, a brother, Ensign John R. Drew USN, who was then serving in Southern France, and two sisters, Bette Drew of Collingswood, NJ, and Mrs. Jean Knight of Moorestown, who was also a co-employee of his at the Courier-Post.
Edward F. Drew Jr. was brought home aboard the USAT Joseph V. Connolly, arriving October 27, 1947. He was buried at Beverly National Cemetery on November 19, 1947.
Photos
Photos of Edward F. Drew Jr.
Beverly National Cemetery
Beverly National Cemetery, Beverly, New Jersey, where First Lieutenant Edward F. Drew Jr. is buried.
‘Eddie’ Drew Killed in Action, Ex-Courier-Post Employe
Camden Courier-Post
First Lieutenant Gives Life in Belgium; Overseas Just One Month
First Lieut. Edward F. Drew, Jr., former Courier-Post editorial employe, was among nine South Jersey men today reported killed in action.
Killed in Belgium
Lieutenant Drew’s wife, the former Catherine Bauer, of 243 Crestmont terrace, Collingswood, was notified he was killed in action in Belgium on Jan. 13. The same day, she received a letter from him dated Jan. 6 saying he had attended Mass in Belgium on New Year’s Eve. They would have been married two years Feb. 16.
Home on furlough for the last time over Thanksgiving, Lieutenant Drew had been overseas only a month. Prior to shipping out he was an infantry instructor at Camp Blanding, Fla.
He entered the Army in May, 1942, and was sent to Camp Croft, S. C., where he was chosen from among 200 trainees to remain there as member of a training company with a promotion to corporal. On recommendation of his commanding officer, he was sent to Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Ga., in May, 1943, where he was the fourth highest in his graduating class.
Lieutenant Drew was then sent to instructors’ school at Camp Wheeler, Ga., and after his graduation there took the Camp Blanding assignment, being promoted to first lieutenant shortly after.
Ordered ‘Over’ in December
He received his overseas orders last December, and upon arrival at Fort Meade, Md., was chosen to head a special group for the trip to the front.
Military Honors Given Lt. Drew
Camden Courier-Post —
Full military honors were accorded Lt. Edward Franklin Drew Jr., killed during the Battle of the Bulge, at funeral services today in National cemetery, Beverly.
Lieutenant Drew, a former Courier-Post editorial department employe, entered the service in May, 1942, and was ordered overseas in November, 1944. Before going overseas, he was an infantry instructor at Camp Blanding, Fla. On Nov. 13, 1944, he received notice that he was to be shipped overseas, and left this country on December 13. A month later, on Jan. 13, 1945, he was killed, during the Battle of the Bulge.
Shortly after his arrival at an officers’ replacement pool overseas, Lieutenant Drew was placed in command of a detachment of infantrymen assigned to seal a mountain pass in the immediate vicinity during the Battle of the Bulge. Lieutenant Drew’s assignment was a success, but it cost the life of every man in his detachment.
High Mass for Lieutenant Drew was sung last Sunday in Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, Berlin.
Attending the funeral today were Lieutenant Drew’s widow, Mrs. Catherine Drew, 243 Crestmont terrace, Collingswood, and her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew H. Bauer; his mother, Mrs. Mabel Drew, 25 East Collings avenue, Collingswood; Mr. and Mrs. William B. Knight, of Berlin (Mrs. Knight is the former Jean Drew of the Courier-Post); Miss Betty Drew, another sister, and John Drew, a brother. Major George Abbott, in command of Camden’s recruiting station, also attended the funeral.