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Pfc Edmund C. Sheppard attended college for three years and was a salesman before he enlisted in Los Angeles, California on 4 August 1943.

After the phone lines went out, Lt Carlyle Woelfer, commander of Company K, went to find out for himself what was happening on his right flank and, if possible, to regain contact with Company E. With Staff Sgt. Daniel A. Towse and Pfc Edmund C. Sheppard, he set out from the CP in a jeep pulling a trailer loaded with ammunition. Shortly after starting, the jeep broke down and their radio set went dead, so the men proceeded on foot. Moving 200 yards farther down the road they came under fire from a machinegun nest on the right side of the road. Woelfer called out to the Germans in the woods to come out and surrender but received no reply. Then he threw a grenade in front of the machinegun nest, but its occupants still said nothing, nor did they fire, so Woelfer and Sheppard went in after them, Sheppard going to the left, Woelfer to the right. As Woelfer came up on a little rise behind the gun, lifting his submachine gun to fire, he saw Sheppard suddenly appear in front of the German gun, saw him raise his rifle, heard the report as the Germans fired and saw Sheppard fall, killed instantly. Woelfer then set upon the Germans with his submachine gun, killing the three-man crew.

For this action he was awarded the Silver Star Medal posthumously. The citation sited:
"On 24 January 1945 near Schweighausen, Germany. When a patrol on the outpost line of resistance was forced to withdraw from its position, one of the squad leaders was severely wounded. When his absence was discovered in checking for casualties, the missing man was seen lying in the snow about 300 yards from our lines and in full observation of the enemy. Calling for covering fire, Pvt Sheppard made his way to the wounded man, approaching within 150 yards of enemy positions. He administered first aid and brought the man to cover, disregarding intense heavy machine gun and small arms fire from the enemy. By his outstanding courage and devotion to duty Pvt Sheppard saved the life of a wounded comrade."