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Wright Bryan World War II papers

 Collection
Collection number: ahc.MSS914f

Scope and Content

This collection contains documents pertaining to Bryan's reporting on the Allied invasion of Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944. Materials include correspondence concerning his placements in the European theater of World War II, as well as newspaper clippings from the day of the invasion. Also included are personal documents such as an address book and notes. Of particular note is Bryan's contract with the United States Army, which authorized him to become a war correspondent.

Dates

  • 1943-1945, undated

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. All requests to publish, quote, or reproduce must be submitted through the Kenan Research Center. The recordings listed are licensed under a Creative Commons, Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivsCC By-NC license, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. Copyright of the programs are owned by NBC.

Administrative/Biographical History

William "Wright" Bryan (1905-1991) was born in Atlanta, Georgia, to Arthur B. Bryan (1875-1959) and Inez Sledge Bryan (1869-1925). In 1926 Bryan graduated from Clemson College in South Carolina. A year later, he became a reporter for the Atlanta Journal, and in 1940 he was promoted to the managing editor. In September 1943, he was deployed to England as a war correspondent. Bryan broadcast the first eyewitness account of D-Day on June 6, 1944. He was taken as a prisoner of war by Germany in September 1944. In 1947, General Dwight Eisenhower awarded Bryan the Medal of Freedom. He married Ellen Hillyer Newell (1904-1998) and they had three children: William Wright Bryan, Jr. (1940-2006), Newell Bryan Tozzer (1934-), and Mary Lane Bryan Sullivan (1937-).

Extent

4 folder(s)

Language

English

System of Arrangement

This collection is arranged alphabetically according to titles supplied by staff.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Audio recordings are available in digital form. Please contact an archivist for access to these recordings.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift, 2016, with subsequent additions

Description Control

This collection was processed in 2019

Title
Wright Bryan World War II papers
Author
Allison Maier
Date
July 2019
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid is written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Kenan Research Center at Atlanta History Center Repository

Contact:
130 West Paces Ferry Road
Atlanta GA 30305
404-814-4040