Bryan
Galesburg sailor earns Bronze Star
Recognizes actions on convoys in Iraq
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Thursday, September 7, 2006
GALESBURG - Yeoman First Class Matthew Bryan received the Bronze Star on May 10 for his actions during a six-month deployment to Iraq.Bryan, a 1988 graduate of Galesburg High School, received the award in a ceremony in the Naval Base Guam chapel. Capt. Brad Gehrke, commander of Submarine Squadron 15, presented the medal.
A staff member of Submarine Squadron 15, based in Guam, Bryan volunteered for the deployment as an individual augmentee to the Army. He was a noncommissioned officer in charge and convoy commander with J-7, the Multinational Security Transition Command's engineering department, from Nov. 5, 2005, to May 10.
According to the award narrative, Bryan led "his team of soldiers, sailors and airmen in over 40 combat convoys throughout Iraq. These convoys often came under attack from small arms fire and homemade bombs."
Cheri Wiley, Bryan's mother, said he enlisted in the Navy the November after his high school graduation.
"He had some young-man restlessness and a sense of adventure," she said.
She said she knew he'd been nominated for the award, but didn't know it was a big deal.
"At the time I didn't realize it was such a nice honor," she said.
Now that he's returned from Iraq, Bryan has been stationed at the New London Submarine Base in Groton, Conn. He'll live there with his wife, Kui-Young Kim, and 6-month-old son, Dea-Guen. He also has a 12-year-old daughter, Noelle.
His mother is glad to have him back in the United States.
"He hasn't been on the same continent for quite a while," she said.
