 After serving in battleship "Florida" (BB-30), destroyer

"Reno" (DD-303) and other ships, he underwent submarine instruction in 1931, served in several submarines, and was assigned to cruiser "Detroit" (CL-8) in 1935.Lieutenant Commander Edwards assumed command of "Reuben James" (DD-245) 6 April 1940.His ship became the first in the U.S. Navy to be sunk in the Battle of the Atlantic when it was torpedoed by a German submarine while on convoy duty west of Iceland 30–31 October 1941.