William Bryden

William Bryden (February 3, 1880 – January 20, 1972) was a career officer in the United States Army. A veteran of the Philippine–American War, Pancho Villa Expedition, World War I, and World War II, he attained the rank of major general and was three-time recipient of the Army Distinguished Service Medal. Bryden was best known for his assignment to several senior command positions, including the 15th Field Artillery Brigade, 9th Field Artillery Brigade (1918–1919), 16th Infantry Brigade and Fort George G. Meade (1937–1938), 13th Field Artillery Brigade and Fort Bragg (1938–1940), Deputy Chief of Staff of the United States Army (1940–1942), Fourth Corps Area (1942), Fourth Service Command (1942–1944), and president of the Secretary of War´s Separation Board (1944–1946).

A native of Hartford, Connecticut, Bryden was raised in Hartford and Chelsea, Massachusetts. He graduated from the United States Military Academy (West Point) in 1904 and began a career in the Field Artillery Branch. His early assignments included Fort D. A. Russell, Wyoming and Fort Stotsenburg, Philippines. He was an instructor in mathematics at West Point from 1908 to 1912, and secretary of the Field Artillery School from May 1915 to June 1916. During World War I, Bryden served as assistant commandant of the School of Fire for Field Artillery and director of the school's Department of Field Gunnery, and received promotion to temporary colonel and temporary brigadier general in October 1918. In the closing days of the war, he commanded the 15th Field Artillery Brigade at Camp Stanley, Texas and the 9th Field Artillery Brigade at Camp McClellan, Alabama from November 1918 until the brigade was demobilized in February 1919.

Bryden's post-war assignments included instructor at the United States Army Command and General Staff College and executive officer in the Office of the Chief of Field Artillery. He commanded the 16th Infantry Brigade at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland from September 1937 to May 1938 and the 13th Field Artillery Brigade and Fort Bragg from May 1938 to June 1940. Bryden was the Deputy Chief of Staff of the United States Army from June 1940 to March 1942, and was promoted to major general in May 1941. He commanded the Fourth Corps Area (later redesignated the Fourth Service Command) from March 1942 until February 1944, when he reached the mandatory retirement age of 64. Because of the army's expansion for World War II, Bryden remained on active duty and served as president of the Secretary of War´s Separation Board. He retired for the second time in January 1946.

In retirement, Bryden resided in Washington, D.C. He died in Washington on January 20, 1972, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Early life

Bryden was born in Hartford, Connecticut on February 3, 1880, a son of veterinarian George Bryden and Florence A. (Bliss) Bryden. He was raised and educated in Hartford until his father died in 1895, after which he was raised in the Chelsea, Massachusetts home of his maternal uncle, Eli C. W. Bliss. Bryden's first cousin, Raymond W. Bliss, served as Surgeon General of the United States Army from 1947 to 1951.

Bryden attended Chelsea High School, from which he graduated in 1898.

Start of career Bryden was assigned to the 13th Field Artillery Battery at Fort D. A. Russell, Wyoming, where he served from September 1904 to January 1906.

From August 1908 to August 1912, Bryden was a mathematics instructor at West Point. He served with the 5th Artillery at Fort Sill, Oklahoma from November 1912 to December 1914 and Fort Naco, Arizona from December 1914 to January 1915, during the Pancho Villa Expedition.

In September 1922, Bryden began attendance at the United States Army Command and General Staff College, from which he graduated in June 1923. From December 1931 to October 1934 he served concurrently as executive officer of the 13th Field Artillery Regiment and 11th Field Artillery Brigade at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. In May 1941, he received promotion to major general. He was active in veterans and academic affairs, including membership in the Newcomen Society of the United States and Army and Navy Club, service as commander of Washington's American Legion Post 18, and appointment as senior vice commander of the D.C. chapter of the Military Order of the World Wars. Bryden maintained a longtime interest in West Point alumni affairs, including a term as one of the alumni association's vice presidents. He died in Washington on January 20, 1972. His other awards included the Philippine Campaign Medal, Mexican Border Service Medal, World War I Victory Medal, World War II Victory Medal, American Campaign Medal, and American Defense Service Medal.

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