Edwin William Hurst was born on 16 October 1910 at Falls City, Nebraska. His family moved to Sioux Falls, SD and he graduated from Sioux Falls High School in 1928 and received a congressional appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD from which he graduated in 1932. After serving on the for two years, in 1934 he received orders to report to aviation flight training in Pensacola, FL. He earned his wings in 1935 and in that year he married the former Marian Jeannette Harris, also of Sioux Falls. He was then assigned to Scout Bombing Squadron 3 aboard the . He was selected for the Naval Postgraduate School in 1939 and completed its course in Ordnance & Gunnery. In May 1941 he reported to Torpedo Squadron 2 aboard to assume the duties of Squadron Executive Officer.