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Blackshear M. Bryan | |
|---|---|
 General Blackshear M. Bryan | |
| Born | (1900-02-08)February 8, 1900 Alexandria, Louisiana |
| Died | March 2, 1977(1977-03-02) (aged 77) Silver Spring, Maryland |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1922–1960 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Commands | First United States Army United States Army, Pacific United States Military Academy I Corps XVI Corps 24th Infantry Division |
| Battles / wars | World War II Korean War |
| Awards | Army Distinguished Service Medal (3) Air Medal |
| Other work | President,Nassau Community College |
Lieutenant GeneralBlackshear Morrison Bryan (February 8, 1900 – March 2, 1977) was aUnited States Army general who served during theSecond World War andKorean War.
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Bryan was born inAlexandria, Louisiana on February 8, 1900. He was attending theVirginia Military Institute when he received an appointment to theUnited States Military Academy atWest Point, New York in 1918. Because of World War I, two classes were graduated from the academy in 1922. Bryan was with the portion of the Class of 1923 that graduated after accelerated course of studies in three years, receiving a commission as a second lieutenant of artillery.
After graduation from West Point, Bryan took artillery officer training atFort Sill, Oklahoma. He returned to West Point to serve as an assistant Army football coach during the 1925 and 1926 seasons. Bryan was also an instructor there in 1928–29 and 1933–34. He was promoted to first lieutenant in 1927 and captain in 1935. In 1936, he graduated from theCommand and General Staff School.[1] In 1940, Bryan was promoted to major and graduated from theUnited States Army War College.
At the outbreak of World War II, Bryan was chief of the Policy Section for the War Department General Staff in Washington, D.C. where he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. In 1942 he was promoted to colonel and assigned as Chief of the Aliens Division for theProvost Marshal General's Office. With his promotion to general and a 1943 reorganization, he headed the Prisoner of War Division with charge over Japanese internment and prisoner of war camps throughout the United States. In July 1945, Bryan became Provost Marshal General and transitioned an agency whose lifespan rarely exceeded beyond the end of combat hostilities into a post-war organization with charge over Army military investigations, the military police and the Army's military police school.
In 1948, Bryan transferred to Panama Canal Zone, serving as chief of staff under GeneralMatthew Ridgway who headed a newly established unified multi-service command structure, theCaribbean Command, the predecessor to United States Southern Command, replacing the Army's World War II Caribbean Defense Command.
In March 1951, Bryan was part of the first rotation of combat commanders since the start of theKorean War, taking charge of the24th Infantry Division, a first combat command that he took on with Ridgeway's full faith, despite not having combat experience.
After a year in Korea, Bryan served as Deputy Chief of Staff for theFar East Command in Tokyo before commanding theXVI Corps in Japan. He then took on a leading role on the military armistice commission of theUnited Nations that concluded hostilities in Korea in 1953 and directed the repatriation of prisoners of war. After promotion to major general and a stint as commanding general ofI Corps in Korea, he was appointed the 43rdsuperintendent of the United States Military Academy atWest Point, serving from 1954 to 1956. It was during this time Bryan made an appearance on the March 30, 1955 episode ofWhat's My Line?.[2]
In July 1956 Bryan took command ofUnited States Army, Pacific in Hawaii. In July 1957 Bryan assumed his final command as commanding general,First United States Army atFort Jay,Governors Island in New York City. After 37 years of active duty, Bryan entered the retired list February 29, 1960.
From 1960 to 1965 Bryan served as the first president of theNassau Community College in Long Island, New York.
Two of Bryan's sons also served in the United States Army:
Blackshear M. Bryan died inSilver Spring, Maryland on March 2, 1977.[3] He was interred at theWest Point Cemetery on March 7, 1977.[4]
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Superintendents of the United States Military Academy 1954–1956 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commanding General,First United States Army 1957–1960 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
