EDWARD F. BEWIE

Lieutenant Colonel | Infantry

 

When considering how an Army functions in war, hospitality is not often the first aspect of a soldier's life one may think of when basic survival, food, water, and ammunition seem to be of peak necessity.  However, the Army furnishes its officers and men with the finest it has to offer to maintain high morale.  The average soldier would be extremely bitter without an offering of reading material, entertainment, beer, and other luxuries that are difficult to come by in the field and far from civilization.

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Procuring, organizing, and distributing these accommodations as well as maintaining the command post was left to the commandant of a unit.  When the 25th Division spent its first year in Korea rapidly moving up and down the country, Ed Bewie struggled to keep up with the short notices and unpredictable terrain.  He was confident in his work after nearly twenty-five years in the Army, but it was a challenge he had not faced before.

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In mid-1942 he sailed to Fiji with the 37th Division as the commander's Aide-de-Camp, but did not stay with the division and instead transferred to the service command posted on the island.  Thus began his career predominantly filled with the duties of supply and that of the headquarters commandant.  By the time he was in Korea, he was most efficient at his job and the Division staff was thankful to be relieved of many of their own duties.  General Kean had become a close friend of the Major during their time in Japan before the war and most especially in combat and saw that Bewie was appropriately recognized for his service in addition to his personal appreciation.