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Happy 100th Birthday

Roswell’s hometown hero turns 100

Our hometown hero turns 100 on July 3. Edward George Bernard was born on July 3, 1922, in Burlington.

Second Class Quartermaster Bernard was honored by Roswell Mayor Kurt Wilson and Roswell City Council membership in March and awarded the Esteemed Veteran of Roswell.

Mayor Wilson’s proclamation states:

Edward enlisted in the United States Navy, Amphibian Branch, on June 2, 1942 as Seaman Second Class. He received Naval training in Rhode Island and attended Quartermaster and Signal School in Rosneath, Scotland and Little Creek, Virginia. He was assigned as a Quartermaster on an English Landing Craft Tank Rocket 373 ship. As Quartermaster, his job was to maintain the maps, calculate targets for the 100 rockets and steer the ship during times of battle. He was required to keep a daily log, except for D-Day, which he was ordered to leave blank. On June 6, 1944, as a Quartermaster on the LCTR 373, he helped launch the largest amphibious invasion in history, the Normandy Invasion. First into battle on D-Day, the LCTR's launched their rockets at critical land targets to destroy enemy strongholds before the allied soldiers stormed the beaches.

Following D-Day, Edward George Bernard’s LCTR 373 ship was sent to the Mediterranean to support allied troops that were liberating France and Italy. He returned to England and then to Delaware for more amphibious training.  Once completed, his expertise was needed and he was sent to Hawaii to join the fight in the Pacific. His new ship was on the way to Japan to join the land invasion when the war ended on May 8, 1945. His ship was then ordered to circumnavigate and guard the Hawaiian Islands. Edward received his Honorable Discharge on Feb 26, 1946 with rank of Second Class Quartermaster and he was awarded the following medals: WWII Victory Medal, European African Middle East Medal, Asiatic Pacific Theater Medal, American Theater Medal and Good Conduct Medal.

Upon returning to the United States, Edward George Bernard received his Bachelor of Arts from St. Michael’s College in Vermont and achieved First Chair of the Burlington Military Band. After graduation, he lived in Lima, Peru, and studied ethnology at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos where he received a second Bachelor’s Degree in Humanities. He was assigned to help salvage a school, Colegio Santa Maria, and teach in the small village of Muquiyauyo where he later became their principal. Edward earned a Doctorate Degree and acquired a Master of Arts in Spanish from the University of Arizona before returning to live in Peru for an additional eight years. Edward is fluent in English, Spanish and French.

According to friend Janet Russell, Mr. Bernard likes to go to Mac McGees with his family, where staff saves a table for him to enjoy a cider with family and friends. Cheers!

Happy 100th Birthday Sir. Thank you for your outstanding service to our country.

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