Charles Weatherly Bryant, Sr., U.S. Army

Born February 23, 1889 in Benton, Alabama Died December 26, 1975

He enlisted in the Army in Montgomery, Alabama and was assigned to the 37th Ammunition Mule Train. Just before his unit was to ship out to France, a horse stepped on his toe and broke it. He was assigned to another unit. When that unit was ready to ship out, a mule kicked him in the shin. He was assigned to a third unit. That unit finally arrived in France two weeks after the war was over. The unit ran out of food and began to kill the horses and mules for meat. When they ran out of that, the cook killed dogs and roasted them. My father said he just could not eat dog meat and asked if the cook had anything else to eat. He sent Daddy to the tent where he found some hash. It was the best hash he had ever eaten, he said. When he asked the cook what it was made of, the answer was, "Dog meat!"

When he came back from France a tent meeting was being held in Montgomery preached by none other than the great R. A. Torrey. Daddy gave his heart to Christ and was baptized in the First Baptist Church of Montgomery, Alabama by Dr. Steakley, the Pastor.

Charles Weatherly Bryant was born on February 23, 1889, in Benton, Alabama. After graduating from High School at seventeen years of age, he moved to Montgomery, Alabama to enroll in Draughn's Business College, where he studied Accounting.

Daddy worked as an accountant for three railroads that had a joint office in Atlanta, Georgia: The Atlanta and West Point Railroad, The Georgia Railroad, and the Western Railway of Alabama. Daddy married Addie Lee Reid in Montgomery on June 20, 1920. Mother had been born in Sparta, Georgia on December 14, 1901. Shortly after marrying, Daddy was transferred to the Atlanta office, across the street from the Georgia State Capitol. He worked for those railroads for fifty seven years, working until he was seventy eight years old. They hired three men to take his place, literally.

In Atlanta, Charles Weatherly Bryant, Jr. was born on April 13, 1921. The family lived in West End on Gordon Street, now Ralph D. Abernathy Drive. They were members of the Gordon Street Baptist Church until it disbanded in the early 1970's. Some years after Charles Jr. was born, Daddy bought seven acres of land in the country with a small house on it. They had no electricity or running water for a number of years.

My sister, Jacqueline Bryant, was born on December 23, 1933. I was born on September 24, 1936. About a year later, the house was remodeled into a six room, three bedroom house. It still stands at 1626 Willis Mill Road in Atlanta, Georgia.

It was while Jackie and I were children that WW II broke out. I remember gathering around the radio to hear President Roosevelt tell us. My brother, who was a student at Georgia Tech, immediately joined the Army Air Corps. Daddy, too old to go to war, became Air Raid Warden for our road. I still have his old helmet and gas mask. When the sirens would sound, he would go up and down the road blowing his WW I whistle, which I still have. All windows were fitted with blackout shades and our interior hall with a red light bulb. Thankfully, all of the alerts were practice alerts.

Daddy lived until December 26, 1975. He is buried in the West View Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia. My mother died on May 14,1978, on Mothers Day. She is buried beside him. On the other side is buried my brother, Charles Weatherly Bryant, Jr., who was killed in WW II. Beside him is buried his daughter Beverly Lorraine Bryant. On the other side of the tombstone are the graves where Ruby and I will be buried someday, unless Christ returns first.

Submitted by
Dr. James W. Bryant, his son
Senior Professor of Pastoral Theology
Criswell College
Dallas, Texas