Glen Edwards

Who was Glen Edwards?

Glen Edwards was a test pilot for the U.S. Air Force, and is the namesake of Edwards Air Force Base.

Edwards was born in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada, where he lived until 1931. At age 13, his parents moved the family to California, settling in Lincoln, northeast of Sacramento. He maintained dual U.S.-Canadian citizenship throughout his life.

After graduating with a degree in chemical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, Edwards enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces on July 15, 1941, five months before Pearl Harbor. Upon completion of flight training, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant at Luke Field, Arizona, in February 1942. Assigned to the 86th Light Bombardment Squadron of the 47th Bombardment Group, he departed for the North African theater of operations as a flight commander in October 1942. There he led his flight of A-20s on extremely hazardous, low-level missions against German tanks, convoys, troop concentrations, bridges, airfields and a variety of other tactical targets.

When the Germans broke through the Kasserine Pass in February 1943, his undermanned and undersupplied squadron flew eleven missions in a single day, repeatedly attacking advancing armored columns and blunting their thrust. On one of these missions, Edwards and his crew set a record by completing a combat mission – from takeoff to landing – in just 19 minutes. His squadron received a Distinguished Unit Citation for this action.