12-04-2025
WWII soldier Robert Lee Bryant finally laid to rest after 81 years
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WMBD) — A World War II soldier whose remains had been left unidentified for 81 years was finally brought home.
The procession and funeral, which were held on Saturday, April 12, saw more than one hundred people show up to pay their respects to U.S. Army Pfc. Robert Lee Bryant.
Bryant was buried next to his brother at Park Hill Cemetery in Bloomington.
While none of Bryant's siblings or parents are still alive, family members such as his nieces and nephews attended the funeral to welcome him back home.
Bryant's eldest niece, Deanne Wheat, said it was an emotional day that brought closure to her and her family.
'My grandmother died in the seventies, and when she died, she still made us promise to bring him home. And he could have been buried in Arlington. But my brother decided Grandma's last wish was to bring my boy home. And by God, we brought him home,' she said.
Bryant was born on Feb. 20, 1920. In 1930 when he was about 10 years old, Bryant's family moved from Sedalia, Mo., to Bloomington.
Nine years later, in 1939, he enlisted into the Army, where he was assigned to Company B, 4th Ranger Battalion, 'Darby's Rangers,' in the Mediterranean Theater in World War II, According to a press release from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
On Sept. 23, the 23-year-old was reported missing in action after following a four-man patrol just west of the Italian city of Pietre. His body was never found, and there was no report of him as a German prisoner of war, the DPAA said.
On July 19, 1949, he was deemed 'non-recoverable' by the U.S. War Department, the release said.
After the war ended, the American Graves Registration Service was tasked with recovering missing American personnel who fought in the Mediterranean theater, the release said.
Investigators found unidentified remains in a cemetery located in a village called San Nicola, and they were designated as 'X-125 Naples.' The remains were then entered into U.S. Military Cemetery Nettuno, which is now called Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, in Nettuno, Italy, the release said.
Finally, however, in 2019, a DPAA historian compiled records, company morning reports, and grave reports, which indicated Bryant likely went missing where the unidentified remains, X-125, were found.
After a series of lab tests, it was confirmed the X-125 remains were Bryant's, the DPAA release said.
A rosette will now be placed next to Bryant's name on the Walls of the Missing at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery to indicate he has been identified.
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