Today in Wheeling History: July 8—Private Joseph G. "Tootie" Bryan, a Wheeling Central Catholic graduate and 83rd Division medical corpsman from Our Lady of Lebanon parish, was killed in action near St. Lo, France (1944).
Private Joseph G. "Tootie" Bryan was born August 16, 1921, in Wheeling, the son of William and Mary Nassif Bryan, Syrian immigrants who lived at 2269 Market Street. The family belonged to Our Lady of Lebanon parish; Joseph had two brothers, Albert and William "Jack" Bryan. A graduate of Wheeling Central Catholic High School, Joseph enlisted in the U.S. Army on October 22, 1942, while living at the Market Street address, serving as a Private and medical corpsman with the 330th Infantry Regiment, 83rd Infantry Division.
The 83rd Division landed in Normandy in June 1944 and was soon committed to the brutal hedgerow fighting around St. Lo, one of the campaign's costliest engagements. Private Bryan was killed in action there on July 8, 1944, at age 22. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, and Combat Medical Badge for his service and sacrifice.
Bryan's remains were interred near Sainte-Mère-Église before being returned to Wheeling postwar. A High Mass of Requiem was celebrated by Rev. Paul Abraham at Our Lady of Lebanon Church, and he was reburied at Mount Calvary Cemetery on July 5, 1948. Wheeling Post No. 825, Veterans of Foreign Wars, conducted military rites at the grave, while the Syrian Young Men's Club and the Service Star Legion of Wheeling took part in memorial observances. Bryan is remembered on Central Catholic's WWII memorial board.
To learn more: Archiving Wheeling - “Wheeling Central Catholic Students and Graduates Killed in Action During WWII” (https://tinyurl.com/2ut9p5n3), Find a Grave - Joseph G. “Tootie” Bryan (https://tinyurl.com/5adubj2c), Wheeling News-Register ((https://tinyurl.com/4vb8adcu) (https://tinyurl.com/2ef86bj7), Wheeling Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/6f93rwpu), Airborne Museum, Sainte-Mère-Église, soldier record - Joseph G. Bryan (https://tinyurl.com/32bs5bbn)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Archives of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, Find a Grave, eBay, Wikimedia Commons
Private Joseph G. "Tootie" Bryan was born August 16, 1921, in Wheeling, the son of William and Mary Nassif Bryan, Syrian immigrants who lived at 2269 Market Street. The family belonged to Our Lady of Lebanon parish; Joseph had two brothers, Albert and William "Jack" Bryan. A graduate of Wheeling Central Catholic High School, Joseph enlisted in the U.S. Army on October 22, 1942, while living at the Market Street address, serving as a Private and medical corpsman with the 330th Infantry Regiment, 83rd Infantry Division.
The 83rd Division landed in Normandy in June 1944 and was soon committed to the brutal hedgerow fighting around St. Lo, one of the campaign's costliest engagements. Private Bryan was killed in action there on July 8, 1944, at age 22. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, and Combat Medical Badge for his service and sacrifice.
Bryan's remains were interred near Sainte-Mère-Église before being returned to Wheeling postwar. A High Mass of Requiem was celebrated by Rev. Paul Abraham at Our Lady of Lebanon Church, and he was reburied at Mount Calvary Cemetery on July 5, 1948. Wheeling Post No. 825, Veterans of Foreign Wars, conducted military rites at the grave, while the Syrian Young Men's Club and the Service Star Legion of Wheeling took part in memorial observances. Bryan is remembered on Central Catholic's WWII memorial board.
To learn more: Archiving Wheeling - “Wheeling Central Catholic Students and Graduates Killed in Action During WWII” (https://tinyurl.com/2ut9p5n3), Find a Grave - Joseph G. “Tootie” Bryan (https://tinyurl.com/5adubj2c), Wheeling News-Register ((https://tinyurl.com/4vb8adcu) (https://tinyurl.com/2ef86bj7), Wheeling Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/6f93rwpu), Airborne Museum, Sainte-Mère-Église, soldier record - Joseph G. Bryan (https://tinyurl.com/32bs5bbn)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Archives of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, Find a Grave, eBay, Wikimedia Commons
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