Carroll Baxter Bryan was born 15 October 1922 in Kodak, Sevier County, Tennessee to Frank Marion Bryan and Stella Rickard. He died non-battle 23 December 1944 in England.
Second Lieutenant and Navigator
25th Bomber Group, 654th Bomber Squadron, 8th Air Force
Buried at Henrys Crossroads Cemetery, Kodak, Sevier County, Tennessee
The Knoxville Journal, June 11, 1944:
Second Lt. Carroll B. Bryan of Kodak, is a recent graduate of a bombardier school of the Army Air Forces. Lieutenant Bryan is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Bryan, of Route 2, Kodak. He attended Beech Springs High School, and in civilian life was employed as a knitting mill doffer and apprentice carpenter.
Upland Chronicles — Carroll Bryan and the unwanted Christmas greeting
By Dwight Shepherd, November 22, 2023
Publication: Mountain Press, The (Sevierville, TN)
During World War II a number of young men from Sevier County were drafted into the military.
They suddenly found themselves doing far different things than they ever imagined, and traveled to places that they probably thought they would never see. One of these young men was Carroll Bryan of Kodak. Carroll Baxter Bryan was born on October 18, 1922. His parents were Frank Bryan and Stella Rickard Bryan. He graduated from Beech Springs High School. Beech Springs High School closed in 1942, so Bryan was in one of its last few graduating classes. He worked briefly as a knitting mill doffer. At the time he was drafted, he was an apprentice carpenter for the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Carroll Bryan was drafted into the army shortly after the start of World War II. He was inducted into the Army Air Force (the Air Force was not a separate department of the military at that time). Second Lieutenant Carroll Bryan graduated from a bombardier school and was sent to Europe in February of 1943. He was assigned to the 8th Air Force, 25th Bomb Group, 654th Bomb Squad. Bryan ended up at Watton Air Base in Debden, England. He was assigned as navigator on a de Havilland DH 98, Mosquito PR Mrk XVI, registration number NS638.
Carroll Bryan’s family received the Christmas greeting that no one wants in December 1944. On the 23rd, Bryan and pilot Flight Officer James D. Spear were doing a series of test flights, following work on the Mosquito NS638. They took off for the final time at 11:04 a.m.
The plane crashed into a wooded area, two miles West of Dursley, Gloucester at 12:10PM. Both men were killed on impact. His body was finally returned to the United States in July 1948. He was interred at Henry’s Crossroads Cemetery, with military honors furnished by the Sevierville American Legion Post.
Carroll Bryan never married. He was survived by his parents, his older sister Helen (Mrs. Earl) Smith, and nephew Colin Smith. Colin Smith passed away in 1995, without having children. So there is no one left directly related to Bryan, and very few that even knew him personally.
Hi there could you help me at all? I am researching the death of Lt Caroll Baxter Bryan of Kodak. His aircraft crashed less than a mile away from where I am writing this mail in Gloucestershire, England on 23rd December 1944. I would like to try and find some living relatives but have drawn a blank so far. I hope to work with a team to erect a small memorial at the crash location on the 80th Anniversary next year. Would you be able to help at all or be involved, we will raise money for Veterans too. Best regards Andy Markham (amarkham7@aol.com).
- Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Date of birth: 15 October 1922
- Date of death: 23 December 1944
- County: Sevier
- Hometown: Kodak
- Service Branch: Army/Army Air Forces
- Division/Assignment: 25th Bomber Group, 654th Bomber Squadron
- Theater: Europe
- Conflict: World War II
- Battles: Air War in Europe
- Burial/Memorial Location: Henrys Crossroads Cemetery, Kodak, Sevier County, TN
- Location In Memorial: Pillar XVIII, Top Panel
- Sponsored by: John B. Romeiser
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