EDWARD P. BRYAN, III, OILER, USMS
Edward Bryan, III '35
Edward Payson Bryan 3d was admitted to the Naval Academy from Plainfield, New Jersey on June 18, 1931 at age 19 years 10 months. He resigned on February 9, 1932: "Deficient in studies; required to resign."
From his application for a "Seaman's Certificate of Identification," dated January 28, 1943, Port of New York.
Loss
Edward was lost on May 4, 1943 when the ship he was aboard sank in heavy weather approximately 70 miles northeast of Cape Charles, Virginia.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Edward was lost on May 4, 1943, when the life raft that he was on did not make it to shore. He was an oiler aboard USAT Oneida, a merchant marine ship, and it was sailing from New York to Sydney, Australia. Part of a convoy, she was loaded with 800 tons of armor plating, 1,800 tons of aviation castor oil, 48 tons of TNT, and 500 tons of foodstuffs. It was a stormy day, and she began to take on water with her pumps failing. The order to abandon ship finally came at 2:30 a.m. She sank off the coast of Cape Charles, Virginia. USS Andres (DE 45) rescued half of the men around 7:30 p.m., but the other 30 were never heard from again.
The United States Maritime Service trained men for the U.S. Merchant Marine and Army Transport Service. Its mission was to transport supplies and personnel all over the world in support of the fighting forces. The Oneida was first built in 1919, had been sold several times, and was allocated in November 1942 to the War Department Transportation Corp.
Edward was born in Bound Brook, New Jersey, and graduated from its high school. He then attended Rutgers Preparatory School, Severna Park School in Maryland, and the Naval Academy for one year. He then worked in the family’s nursery business and became a member of the Piscataway Township Board of Education. He married Katharine Lindsay on June 27, 1942, and on October 19, he announced his resignation from the board to join the Maritime Service. He was trained at Sheepshead Bay, New York, and he hoped to get an engineer’s license. On January 28, 1943, Edward was issued certificates for Efficiency as Lifeboat Man and as a Qualified Member of the Engine Department as to his knowledge of the duties of fireman. He was 5’10” tall, 160 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes.
His father was Sylvester, a lawyer, who died June 11, 1926. He married Alice O’Brien on June 16, 1907, in New York City, where he was working for the law office of O’Brien, Boardman & Clapp. Sylvester’s brother Edward Payson and his wife had no children, so Sylvester named his first son Edward Payson III to carry on the family name. Sylvester’s other children were: Alice (born 2/9/1910) who became Mrs. John Page, Sylvester (born 7/24/1914), Anne (born 1917) who became Mrs. Samuel Galpin, and William (born 6/6/1919.)
He has a memory marker in Kentucky.
Memorial Hall Error
Edward is not listed with his classmates. This omission was discovered by researcher Kathy Franz.
Edward is one of 57 members of the Class of 1935 on Virtual Memorial Hall.
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