Born: August 11, 1923
Died:
Campaigns Served: Saipan, Tinian, Iwo Jima (wounded)
Highest Rank Attained: Private First Class
Decorations: Purple Heart
Edward Curylo enlisted in the Marines at the age of nineteen. He was assigned to MCRD San Diego for boot training, and was posted to San Diego Base Headquarters.
With Baker Company:
PFC Curylo was transferred to Baker Company, 24th Marines, in the spring of 1944. He joined them on Maui after the battle of Namur. Despite his status as a replacement PFC, Curylo was selected to become a rifle squad leader, a position he held through the battles of Saipan and Tinian.
In the fall of 1944, Curylo was sent to the Battalion Headquarters Company.
With HQ Company:
Curlyo's new assignment, as an intelligence observer, placed him in the position of a battalion scout. He had little chance to use his skills in combat; he was wounded early on in the battle of Iwo Jima. While the muster roll says he was hit on February 20, Curylo himself remembered being "hit by shrapnel on the fourth day. While being hoisted aboard the Good Samaritan Ship [USS Samaritan]... saw the flag being raised."
The war was over for Edward Curylo. He returned to Michigan, where he married his wife Ann and raised a family. He retired from a division of GMC and became an avid bicycle rider and repairman.