On occasion of the last Sunday of Black History Month, my journey this week took me to James Bryant Jr. He is the greatgrandson of a slave who moved to Elgin after the Civil War as a free man. James is quick to praise his own father for teaching work ethics and moral values. For 49 years, his father worked for the Elgin National Bank where James learned that any change found on the bank floor was left at the cashier’s cage, not pocketed.
James was the valedictorian of Washington High School, followed by Bachelor of Science Degree from Prairie View A&M with a major in pre-med. Later, he concurrently earned both a Master of Science in Public Administration from Texas State University and an Associate Degree in Nursing from San Antonio Community College. As an RN for 44 years, he was employed in a supervisory capacity in hospitals — ERs, ICUs, Acute Coronary Care units — and served in private prisons and nursing homes.
The highlight of his medical journey was as a Medical Service Officer for the Military Sealift Command, United States Merchant Marines, achieving the rank of Lt. Commander. On ships, he gave routine and emergency medical care for all personnel on board. Through his time at sea, James Bryant, Jr. was a world-traveler because he worked for the Oceanographic Survey of the Military Sealift Command with seven trips around the world during his 14 years of service. James describes himself as “a guy from a central Texas cow pasture who witnessed three ‘dummy’ thermonuclear warheads hit target-buoys in the middle of the Pacific Ocean; sailed through the Straits of Hormuz and did a mapping survey mission of the Parcel Islands (these are the Islands in dispute between Japan and China).”
