Peoria Standard

Darin LaHood, the representative for Illinois' 16th Congressional District, expressed gratitude for the community's role in honoring a fallen World War II service member with a proper homecoming after 81 years. He conveyed his appreciation in a Facebook post on April 4.

"The remains of Pfc. Robert Lee Bryant, who was killed in Italy during World War II, were identified last year," said LaHood, U.S. Representative, according to Facebook. "After 81 years, it's wonderful to welcome this fallen hero home to Bloomington. I appreciate City of Bloomington - Police and Normal Police Department for helping give Pfc. Bryant a proper homecoming."

According to Congressman LaHood’s Facebook post, he included a link to a report from Central Illinois Proud, which highlighted part of the procession that brought Private First Class (Pfc.) Robert Lee Bryant through Bloomington-Normal on April 3. Bryant was killed during World War II while participating in Operation AVALANCHE, an invasion of Italy near Salerno in September 1943. He served with Company B, 4th Ranger Battalion. His remains were flown into Chicago Midway International Airport and escorted to Calvert & Metzler Memorial Home by his great-great-nephew, Adam Dillow, a Bloomington native stationed at Fort Riley in Kansas. Bryant’s repatriation services are scheduled for April 12 at Park Hill Cemetery.

Screenshot of U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood's April 4 Facebook post | U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood Facebook page

On January 25, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced that Pfc. Robert Lee Bryant had been accounted for on September 18, 2024. Bryant was reported missing on September 23, 1943, after a four-man patrol west of Pietre, Italy. According to the DPAA news release, he was declared non-recoverable by the War Department on July 19, 1949. In 1947, the American Graves Registration Service recovered remains (X-152 Naples) from a San Nicola cemetery and later interred them at the U.S. Military Cemetery Nettuno. In 2019, a DPAA historian determined that Bryant was likely lost in the area where the X-152 remains were found. Three years later, these remains were disinterred and sent to the DPAA for identification. His remains were identified through anthropological, dental, and mitochondrial DNA analyses.

LaHood has represented Illinois since 2015; initially serving in the 18th Congressional District from 2015-2023 before redistricting led him to represent constituents of the 16th District. His political experience includes four years in the state senate from 2011-2015. He also served as a state and federal prosecutor for more than nine years and worked for the US Department of Justice as an Assistant US Attorney in Las Vegas.

LaHood holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Loras College and a Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois-Chicago John Marshall Law School. He resides with his wife in Peoria.