Edward E. Pryor was born on October 21, 1922 in the town of Aberdeen, Moore County, North Carolina to Joseph Nicholas “Joe” Pryor and Eva “Mildred” Pryor, nee Ferguson. Edward’s siblings were Ralph, Nell, Lee, and Joseph Pryor. In 1930 the family lived in Sand Hill, Moore County, where Joseph was a farmer. Edward’s brother, Ralph, drowned in a swimming accident in 1932. The family was living in Suwannee County, Florida in 1939. Joe Pryor, Sr. died there in May 1939. In the 1940 census, Mildred and her children were living in Suwannee. The three brothers worked as farm laborers.

Edward Eugene Pryor registered for the draft on June 30, 1942. He was 19 years old, 5’8” tall, and weighed 121 pounds. He had brown hair, gray eyes, and a light complexion. He lived in Longview, Cowlitz County, Washington and was employed by the Longview Lumber Company. He entered the United States Army on December 29, 1942 in Tacoma, Washington. He was single, without dependents, and had a grammar school education.

Private Edward E. Pryor served in the 60th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division. In August 1943, during the Allied invasion of Sicily, the 60th Infantry landed at Palermo, Sicily and fought the German 15th Panzer Grenadier Division at the Battle of Troina. After a brief rest and training period in England, the 60th Infantry landed at Utah Beach in Normandy, France on June 11, 1944. The unit cleared Cape La Hague, northwest of Cherbourg. Two months of fierce fighting in the hedgerow country of the Contentin Peninsula followed the beachhead landings.

Pfc. Edward E. Pryor was killed in action on July 13, 1944. He is buried in the Normandy American Cemetery Memorial, Colleville-sur-Mer, France (Plot D, Row 17, Grave 10). He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smart phone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story.

SBTSProject/Washington/Cowlitz

Sources:

American Battle Monuments Commission, https://www.fold3.com/record/529913984/edward-e-pryor-american-battle-monuments-commission

WWII Army Enlistment Records, https://www.fold3.com/record/90847060/edward-e-pryor-wwii-army-enlistment-records

Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56648982/edward-e-pryor

WWII Army and Army Air Force Casualty List, https://www.fold3.com/image/310763493?rec=299418885

U.S. WWII Hospital Admission Card Files, 1942-1954, https://www.fold3.com/record/706638315/pryor-edward-e-us-wwii-hospital-admission-card-files-1942-1954

1930 United States Federal Census, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/76097517:6224

1940 United States Federal Census, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/133151217:2442

North Carolina, U.S., Birth Indexes, 1800-2000, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/3772510:8783

World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/37031174:2238?tid=&pid=&queryId=da8e19017301fa487ce0be7bc12759fd&_phsrc=xOR58003&_phstart=successSource

Edward E Pryor