Edward Dycus was born in Greenville, Mississippi, in December 1989, to Randy and Theresa Carol Dycus. As a child, he had always dreamed of joining the military. Two years after his 2008 Riverside High School graduation, he joined the Marine Corp, completing basic training at Parris Island, South Carolina, in 2011.
Dycus served at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, with the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force. On his birthday that year, he deployed to Afghanistan. Only a few weeks later, on Feb. 1, 2012, he was killed by an Afghan soldier while protecting a joint U.S-Afghan base in the Marja district in Helmand. He was 22, and his death marked the first Mississippian in Afghanistan that year.
Several initiatives honored Dycus’ life shortly after his death. The Mississippi State Senate passed CR 557, which commemorated his service, while the superintendent of his school district planned for a candlelight service.
“Eddie was born for the military,” one of his friends had said. He “was always more worried about someone else than himself,” said another. Following the funeral held at his high school, the Patriot Guard Riders led a procession along streets lined by hundreds of residents, taking Dycus to be buried in Greenville Cemetery with full military honors. He was honored at the 2021 NASCAR 600 Miles of Remembrance, with his name on the windshield of the no. 5 car.
We honor his service.
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Writers: Khaled Maalouf, Tayler Rairigh
Editor: Michelle A. Shade
Researcher: Raphael Romea
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