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By RACHAEL RILEY | The Fayetteville Observer, N.C. | Published: February 17, 2021 FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (Tribune News Service) On what would have been Sgt. 1st Class William M. Bryant s 88th birthday, his family gathered Tuesday at the Fort Bragg building that bears his name to donate his Medal of Honor for a display there. Bryant, a 5th Special Forces Group soldier, was killed March 24, 1969, in Vietnam. He was posthumously awarded the nation s highest military decoration on Feb. 16, 1971, on what would have been Bryant s 37th birthday. A few years later, in June 1973, the six-story Bryant Hall was named in his honor as part of the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School.
Bryant, a 5th Special Forces Group soldier, was killed March 24, 1969, in Vietnam.
He was posthumously awarded the nation s highest military decoration on Feb. 16, 1971, on what would have been Bryant’s 37th birthday.
A few years later, in June 1973, the six-story Bryant Hall was named in his honor as part of the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School.
The building was rededicated in a ceremony Tuesday, along with the dedication of a gallery to showcase Bryant s photos and Medal of Honor.
Bryant’s oldest son, Gregory Bryant, said that all of his life, his friends would look at the medal, say it was nice, then walk away. The importance of it, it seemed, was lost on most people.
These are some of the service members whose names are found on the nation’s largest military installation:
Pope Field is named after 1st Lt. Harley H. Pope on April 1, 1919. Pope and his crewman, Sgt. Walter W. Fleming, were killed Jan. 7, 1919, after their plane crashed into the Cape Fear River.
Pike Field is named for Lt. Col. Emory J. Pike, a Medal of Honor recipient who served during World War I.
Butner Road and Butner Primary are named after Maj. Gen. Henry W. Butner, a North Carolinian who served during World War I.
Gruber Road is named after Brig. Gen. Edmund L. Gruber, an artillery officer, who was an assistant commandant of the field artillery school at Camp Bragg and later commander of Camp Bragg. Gruber was a relative of “Silent Night” composer Franz Gruber and later wrote The Caissons Go Rolling Along,” which John Philip Sousa changed into what is now known as “The Army Song.”