Group of Cpl William Bryant, M & K/3/9, wounded by a 320mm Type 98 mortar on Iwo Jima

[36thIDAlex]

After a long search for a Louisville marine, I finally acquired one who ended up having an incredible story.

His full story here: https://www.36thdivisionarchive.com/pa-pto-bryant

 

William L Bryant was born in Lagrange, Kentucky but moved to Louisville after his father got a job with a local bath fixture manufacturer. Attending DuPont Manual High School, William followed in his footsteps to work as a receiving clerk there until the Japanese attacked. He enlisted in the U.S.M.C. In 1942 and became a .30 machine gunner.

 

Assigned to M/3/9 of the 3rd Marine Division, he shipped overseas with the unit in the winter of 1943, mostly hanging around Guadalcanal until he hit the beaches of Bougainville in October, 1943. During that campaign, William’s battalion mostly held the far left flank of the division, including during a particularly intense attack by the Japanese 54th Infantry in early November, who they beat off with minimal casualties.

 

By July 1944, William transferred to K/3/9 and was promoted to a machine gun squad leader, taking over a team of men for the invasion of Guam. Here, William saw one of his most intense battles when over 5,000 Japanese troops launched a mass banzai charge on July 25. William was overlooking 2/21’s lines when he noticed the enemy were breaking through, so he “moved his .30 caliber machine guns to his left” and began pouring belt after belt into the advancing enemy for two hours, “inflicting heavy casualties” until the company was ordered to plug another gap. They came out victorious, and he fought through the rest of Guam skirting out Japanese survivors.

 

His most memorable engagement, however, was Iwo Jima. Landing on February 23, 1945 to help support the attack on Moroyama Airfield No. 2, William later explained that “a few days on Iwo are capable of a lifetime of haunting memories.” Losing 6/7 officers in the first few hours, with his CO being shot in the head falling on the machine gun next to him, the company suffered brutal casualties. William described how a chunk of brain flew into his helmet from a fellow machine gunner forty feet away, helping his buddy to an aid station who had his entire kidney blown out, and watching as their gunny clutched his intestines back into his chest as William walked him to a corpsman. 
 

William himself was wounded twice, first when shrapnel tore into his upper back near his spine. He never received a Purple Heart for this, however, as he had one of his squad mates pull it from his back as they continued the fight. He was finally cut out of the fight when a 320mm Type 98 Japanese mortar round landed next to him on February 26. Blasting him 75 feet through the air, William suffered a severe concussion blast to the head, abdomen, and back. He was evacuated to the USS LOGAN and taken to Guam for recovery.

 

He moved back to Louisville after the war to marry and start a long career at Louisville Gas and Electric. Even so, he suffered from severe PTSD throughout the rest of his life. He did find solace, however, in joining the Bluegrass Chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, where he was able to finally talk through his experiences with other wounded veterans and begin the process of healing.

 

[Backtheattack]

Very interesting!

[katieony]

A really nice tribute!

[36thIDAlex]

Thanks much for the comments! I meant to include this in the original post, but one fun crossover with this uniform is the fact I have a uniform from another Louisvillian, Charles Randall, who operated the LCVPs of the USS Logan during Iwo Jima, including for the evacuation of wounded to the ship. Its pretty plausible he may have been the one to take this other local onboard for treatment which I thought was quite cool.