Honoring Veterans: Army Veteran William Maud Bryant

William Maud Bryant was born in Cochran, Georgia, in February 1933. Despite his place of birth, Bryant lived with his uncle in Newark, New Jersey, for most of his young adult life, where he graduated from Newark Vocational and Technical High School.

On March 16, 1953, Bryant enlisted in the Army from Detroit, Michigan. Throughout his service, he attended many military schools, including Jumpmaster Course, Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Advance Non-Commissioned Officer Course, Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Special Forces Airborne Course, Fort Bragg, North Carolina; and even a military school in Augsburg, Germany, called Long-Range Reconnaissance Patrol School.

In March 1969, Sergeant First Class Bryant was serving in Vietnam. According to his Medal of Honor citation, he “distinguished himself while serving as commanding officer of Civilian Irregular Defense Group Company 321, 2d Battalion, 3d Mobile Strike Force Command, during combat operations…”

The battalion came under heavy fire and became surrounded by the elements of 3 enemy regiments. Sfc. Bryant displayed extraordinary heroism throughout the succeeding 34 hours of incessant attack as he moved throughout the company position heedless of the intense hostile fire while establishing and improving the defensive perimeter, directing fire during critical phases of the battle, distributing ammunition, assisting the wounded, and providing the leadership and inspirational example of courage to his men. When a helicopter drop of ammunition was made to re-supply the beleaguered force, Sfc. Bryant with complete disregard for his safety ran through the heavy enemy fire to retrieve the scattered ammunition boxes and distributed needed ammunition to his men. During a lull in the intense fighting, Sfc. Bryant led a patrol outside the perimeter to obtain information of the enemy. The patrol came under intense automatic weapons fire and was pinned down. Sfc. Bryant single-handedly repulsed 1 enemy attack on his small force and by his heroic action inspired his men to fight off other assaults. Seeing a wounded enemy soldier some distance from the patrol location, Sfc. Bryant crawled forward alone under heavy fire to retrieve the soldier for intelligence purposes. Finding that the enemy soldier had expired, Sfc. Bryant crawled back to his patrol and led his men back to the company position where he again took command of the defense. As the siege continued, Sfc. Bryant organized and led a patrol in a daring attempt to break through the enemy encirclement. The patrol had advanced some 200 meters by heavy fighting when it was pinned down by the intense automatic weapons fire from heavily fortified bunkers and Sfc. Bryant was severely wounded. Despite his wounds he rallied his men, called for helicopter gunship support, and directed heavy suppressive fire upon the enemy positions. Following the last gunship attack, Sfc. Bryant fearlessly charged an enemy automatic weapons position, overrunning it, and single-handedly destroying its 3 defenders. Inspired by his heroic example, his men renewed their attack on the entrenched enemy. While regrouping his small force for the final assault against the enemy, Sfc. Bryant fell mortally wounded by an enemy rocket. Sfc. Bryant’s selfless concern for his comrades, at the cost of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

For his service, Bryant was awarded a Bronze Star Medal, a Purple Heart, three Good Conduct Medals, a Vietnam Service Medal, a National Defense Service Medal and the Medal of Honor, which was given to Bryant’s parents at the White House on Feb. 16, 1971. He is buried at Raleigh National Cemetery in Raleigh, North Carolina.

We honor his service.

Nominate a Veteran for Honoring Veterans

Do you want to light up the face of a special Veteran? Have you been wondering how to tell your Veteran they are special to you? VA’s Honoring Veterans social media feature is an opportunity to highlight your Veteran and his/her service.

It’s easy to nominate a Veteran. All it takes is an email to newmedia@va.gov with as much information as you can put together, along with some good photos. Visit our blog post about nominating to learn how to create the best submission.

Writer: Mariah Bailey

Editors: Lillian Williams, Tayler Rairigh

Researcher: Raphael Romea

Graphic Designer: Kiki Kelley