Charles Edwin Bryans
Second Lieutenant Charles E. Bryans was a Marine fighter pilot with VMF-224.
He failed to return from a combat mission over Guadalcanal on 31 August 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number O-9678
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
August 8, 1921
at Milford, UT
Parents
Charles Henderson Bryans
Ellen (Gorrill) Bryans
Education
Compton Junior College
Occupation & Employer
Student
Service Life
Entered Service
August 14, 1941 (enlisted)
April 27, 1942 (officer)
Home Of Record
4116 Brompton Avenue
Bell, CA
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Ellen M. Bryans
Military Specialty
Pilot
Primary Unit
VMF-224
Campaigns Served
Solomon Islands / Guadalcanal
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
The 1100 alert took off without incident. Twenty nine Wildcat fighters bumped down the rough strip of Henderson Field and lifted into the air, forming up for a combat patrol over enemy territory. Eight veteran “Bulldogs” of VMF-223 and eighteen “Bengals” from VMF-224 were assigned to the mission – the first for 224, which had only arrived on Guadalcanal the previous afternoon. It was also the first opportunity for the “Cactus Air Force” to engage the enemy on anything approaching even odds.
As the fighters passed 18,000 feet, 1st Lieutenant Stanley S. Nicolay noticed that two of his charges – 2nd Lieutenants Charles Bryans and Richard Amerine – were lagging behind the formation. Neither pilot responded to radio calls, and by the time the flight reached intercept altitude, both Wildcats had vanished. An anticipated Japanese raid failed to materialize, and the Marines headed back to Henderson Field. Three aircraft, piloted by Bryans, Amerine, and 2nd Lieutenant Gordon E. Thompson, did not return. Speculation ran rife among the pilots – enemy action, disorientation, engine failure – but veterans blamed the notorious oxygen system of the Wildcat itself. The three young officers were listed as missing in action that afternoon.
Seven days later, an exhausted and emaciated Lieutenant Amerine appeared at a Marine outpost. At the Division hospital, he told the tale of an incredible escape. As predicted, his oxygen system had failed, and while struggling to stay conscious, his engine quit as well. Amerine bailed out into the water; after swimming several miles to shore, he made a fifty-mile hike back to safety, eating insects and coconuts, and killing no less than four Japanese soldiers who crossed his path. After Amerine’s report, the loss of the other two pilots was chalked up to the oxygen system.
“It was so senseless,” said Stan Nicolay. “I remember thinking that after all their training and effort, neither one of them ever fired a shot in anger. They had no chance. The oxygen system was just a tiny, white triangular mask that fitted over the nose and mouth. You turned on the bottle, and that was it. No pressure system, nothing.”
Nothing more was ever seen of Lieutenant Bryans or his Wildcat, F4F-4 02122. He was declared dead on 8 January 1946.
Burial Information or Disposition
None; remains not recovered.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Ellen Bryans.
Location Of Loss
Bryans was last seen departing from Henderson Field, Guadalcanal. The location of his crash is not known.
