Edward C. Hayden
Edward Charles "Eddie" Hayden was born in Waterville, NY (Oneida County) on June 30, 1924. He enlisted in the army and entered the Paratroopers after his older brothers, Harold and Francis, joined the Marine Corps from their Otsego County home in Middlefield, NY. Eddie was killed in action on June 17, 1944 in the outskirts of Carantan, the result of a shrapnel wound to the head from German artillery. He was 19 years old, less than two weeks before his 20th birthday. On D-Day, his regimental objective was the lock at La Barquette on the Canal de Vire et Taute and the nearby bridges on the Douve River, as well as to secure the beach exits on the south eastern section of Utah Beach. Because of the confusion of the drops it is not clear whether Eddie hit his drop zone, but he was with his unit for the capture of Carantan. The shelling that killed Eddie was to cover the German withdrawal, as Carantan was in American hands.
