Major General Cunningham C. Bryant was appointed the Commanding General of the District of Columbia National Guard 4 October 1974, effective 9 August 1974. He is a World War II combat veteran and has been a member of the District of Columbia National Guard since 1954. General Bryant entered the Enlisted Reserve Corps at Howard University in 1942, as an ROTC Senior Cadet, was called to active duty in 1943 and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in April 1944, after completing Infantry Officer Candidate School in Fort Benning, Georgia. He served in Italy with the 92d Infantry Division as a platoon leader and company commander in the 317th Engineer Combat Battalion. By V-E Day, he had attained the rank of Captain. | After World War II he remained on active duty and served tours at Fort Belvoir, Virginia and Fort Benning, Georgia. He was released from active duty in December of 1949. He joined the District of Columbia National Guard in March 1954, as Operations and Training Officer in the 140th Engineer Battalion, and moved up to Assistant Operations and Training Officer in Headquarters, D. C. National Guard. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in April 1962, and later served as Assistant Commandant of the District of Columbia National Guard Officer Candidate School. He became Commandant of the School on 1 January 1964. On 1 January 1968, he was promoted to Colonel and became Chief, Operations and Training Branch, Headquarters, D. C. National Guard. | General Bryant was appointed the Adjutant General of the DCNG on 1 July 1968, and served in that position until his appointment as Commanding General. He was promoted to Brigadier General 16 July 1971, and federally recognized as a Major General on 12 February 1975. | General Bryant is a graduate of the Infantry Officer Associate Basic Course, Fort Benning, Georgia; the Engineer Officers Advanced Course, Fort Belvoir, Virginia; the Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; the Defense Strategy Seminar, National War College, Washington, D. C., the Senior Reserve Component Officer Course and the United States Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. | His decorations include the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Purple Heart, the American Theatre Ribbon, the European-African-Middle East Campaign Medal with two Battle Stars, the Army Occupation Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal. | General Bryant held memberships in the National Guard Association of the United States; the National Guard Association of the District of Columbia; Association of the United States Army; the Adjutants General Association; the Reserve Officers' Association of the United States and the Military Police Association. He was also a member of the Metropolitan Washington Board of Trade, the D. C. Armory Board and the Big Brothers of the National Capital Area. General Bryant was elected as the Treasurer of the Adjutants General Association and served as a member of its Executive Council in 1977. He was also appointed a member of the Executive Committee for the National Guard Association of the United States in 1977. He served as a member of the Vestry, Calvary Episcopal Church, an alternate on the Army Reserve Forces Policy Committee and on the Board of Directors of the D. C. Striders.