Edison A. Little

Edison (Ed) Arvin Little went to be with the Lord on January 27, 2009. He had been a resident at John J Pershing VA Medical Center for the past two years. Edison was born January 21, 1917 at Doniphan, Missouri.

He married Helen Marie Bruce on December 16, 1946. She preceded him in death on July 10, 1989. Their marriage was blessed with three daughters. Gloria Jean Gilmore, Linda Darlene Williams, and Brenda Kay Knapp (Husband-David), all of Poplar Bluff.

Seven grand children; Dawn Wallace (Husband-Jason), Vickie Simpson (Husband-Steve), Sherry Anderson, Michael Gilmore (Wife-Chandrea), and Matthew Gilmore (all of Poplar Bluff), Michelle Gilmore (Doniphan), and Bobbie Sullivan (Wife-Kelly) of Fenton, Missouri; Fourteen great grand children and one great great grand child.

Edison proudly served his country in the U.S. Army during WWII. He served in England, France, Germany, and Belgium as well as the United States. His unit, the 4th Division (22nd Infantry) was directly involved in the D-Day Invasion. He and the other members of C Company were in the first wave to land on Utah Beach on the Normandy coast of France on the morning of June 6, 1944. Soon after landing he captured five German officers of an artillery unit that stood in the way of advancing U.S. forces. In early July, 1944 he was seriously wounded by a German mortar round. He then spent more than four months recovering in England and in November rejoined his unit, which by that time had advanced into the Argonne forest area of Germany. Within days he was wounded again and sent to a hospital in Belgium for treatment of his wounds. He was then transferred to the Army Air Force and stationed in Paris, France and later in Weisbaden, Germany with the 8th and 9th Air Force Headquarters.

He earned two Bronze Stars, two Purple Hearts, and a Good Conduct Medal and was entitled to wear the American Theatre Campaign, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign and the Victory Ribbons with three overseas bars.

Ed worked at the John J Pershing VAMC just after the hospital opened, but was forced to retire due to medical reasons. He later began driving cars for auto dealers around the Poplar Bluff area. He traveled many thousands of miles all over the U.S. picking up and delivering cars and trucks. He was a ""walking roadmap"" and could quote highway numbers and directions from across the country.

During the early years of the churches history Edison, his wife and children were members of 3rd Baptist Church of Poplar Bluff where he was the song leader and a deacon.

He loved his family, vegetable and flower gardening and enjoyed talking to local civic and school groups about his experiences during the war. He had re-newed his faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and as believers we know that we will be with him again.

Visitation will begin at 12 noon Monday at Cotrell Funeral Chapel in Poplar Bluff. The funeral service will follow at 1:30 p.m. in the Chapel with the Rev. Steve Patterson officiating. Burial with full military honors will be at Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Poplar Bluff.

Memorials may be made to the World War II Veteran's Honor Tour, c/o Cotrell Funeral Service, P.O. Box 548, Poplar Bluff, MO 63902.

Condolences may expressed to the family online at www.cotrellfuneralservice.com.