Faye (Johnson) Edwards was born February 5th, 1923, in Winfield, West Virginia. In this small coal mining town, her father was killed in a coal mining accident and her mother later remarried. As Edwards got older, she moved to Milton, West Virginia, to work as a pie baker.

After being recommended by Mrs. Cline, one of her coworkers in Milton, Edwards moved to Baltimore, Maryland, to live with the Cline family, and joined the American Hammered Piston Rings factory to make piston rings for motors during World War II. She worked primarily with women in the factory, as most men had been drafted. Dissatisfied with the difficult and dirty work of the factory, Edwards and her friend, Laverna Cline, enlisted in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) in July 1944. Shortly afterward, Edwards was called for duty and reported to Fort Oglethorpe in Georgia for basic training.

At Fort Oglethorpe, Edwards was part of the 22nd Training Regiment. Edwards learned basic army training and later trained incoming soldiers. During her time at Fort Oglethorpe, Edwards recalled meeting and helping prisoners of war that were held on site. After training, Edwards left for Fort Monroe, Virginia. At Fort Monroe, Edwards was responsible for maintaining secret documents and organizing classified information. However, Faye Edwards soon grew tired of the constant secrecy, and was sent abroad to serve in Europe.

At her station in Bremerhaven, Germany, Edwards helped process new soldiers from the United States. Later, Edwards was transferred to Yokohama, Japan, where she met her husband along the way. On November 10th, 1949, Faye Edwards got married privately to Army Sergeant Charlie Edwards. After being discharged from the WACs in January 1950, she moved to Tokyo with her husband where they had their first child, Leinda Jean.

Upon returning to the United States, Faye Edwards' family lived on a military base in Oklahoma and later in Germany while her husband finished his service. The Edwards’ retired to Columbus, Georgia, and Faye Edwards passed away on April 22nd, 2018 in Newnan, Georgia.