Garland Drewry Bridges, Jr. -- Professional Soldier

 

Garland Drewry Bridges, Jr., or G. D. as he was known was born on July 22, 1924 in the Maple Grove Community of Trigg County, Kentucky.  He was one of six children born to Garland Drew and Annie Lurline Thomas Bridges.

In 1942 when Garland registered for the draft, he was working for the American Elevator and Machine Co. in Louisville, Kentucky, but gave his place of residence as Route 1, in Cadiz.  On January 25, 1944, he was inducted into the Army Air Corps as an aviation cadet.  However, he and 300 other cadets’ flight training were eliminated on February 19, 1944. He was then assigned to the Radar Repair School as a private.  He completed the B-29 Radar School training in May 1945.  His early active duty came to a close when he was discharged in May 1946 as a corporal in the Army Air Corps reserves.

Following his discharge, Garland moved to Texas where he met Johnnye Faye Buth, the daughter of John and Neta Word Buth of Lockney, Texas. Garland and Johnnye were married on August 4, 1946, a marriage that lasted 62 years. In September 1946, Garland enrolled at Texas Tech University in Lubbock.  He graduated in 1949 with a BS degree in Education and a USAF commission in the reserves.  He went on to earn his masters degree in Education in 1950.  Then the Korean War began and in June 1950, Garland started his air force career.

In September of 1964, Garland and his family were living in Tripoli, Libya where he was serving at Wheelus Air Base.  He was the Director of Personnel when the Arab-Israeli Six Day War occurred.  He was responsible for getting all the military families and other Americans who lived in the Tripoli area safely into Wheelus Air Base.  The base was being threatened by homemade bombs being thrown over the air base fence and Russian fighter planes began appearing in the area.  Garland was then responsible for evacuating over 6,000 individuals, mostly women and children, out of Libya by air.  All this urgent activity took place in less than ten days.

Later in his career, in May of 1972, Garland was assigned to the Air Base in Danang, Vietnam.  Danang was known as “Rocket City” as Russian rockets frequently rained down upon the base.  As Director of Personnel, he served at the air base for ten months.

Lieutenant Colonel Garland Bridges retired from the United States Air Force on June 30, 1975 after serving his country for over 31 years.  His service included serving in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. His military decorations included two Meritorious Service Medals and a Bronze Star.

After retirement, Garland and his family moved to Austin, Texas where he began a second career as a life insurance salesman for the following 15 years.  In 2003, Garland and Johnnye moved to a retirement community in Temple, Texas. In 2006, they moved to Odessa, Texas to be closer to their family.

Garland died on August 8, 2008 in Odessa, Texas at the age of 84.  He was buried in the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas.  His wife Johnnye died on June 24, 2016 in Odessa and was buried alongside him in San Antonio.

Tombstone of Garland D. Bridges, Jr.

LINEAGE:  (Garland Drewry Bridges, Jr. was the son of Garland Drewry and Annie Lurline Thomas Bridges, and the grandson of Drewry and Nannie Gresham Bridges. Drewry was the fourth child of William and Mary Thomas Bridges. William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.  Mary Thomas was the fifth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)