Individual Details
Van Gordon Briles
(March 25, 1926 - January 29, 1990)
"As per Worthie Elwood Briles during phone conversation with his daughte r Susan Marie Briles Kniebes on January 27, 2003, Van was also born on t he "5-Acre Place." Elwood can remember the doctor coming to deliver Va n and all of the commotion involved. Of course, Elwood and the older c hildren were not allowed anywhere near the birth activity.
The family had a sign on the "5-Acre Place" that said "Cottage Oaks." T he sign was painted by Elwood's father Worthie Harwood Briles, who was a s ign painter by trade. The sign looked so nice that folks going by assu med that the family was running some kind of public establishment.
Probably shortly after Van Gordon's birth on the "5-Acre Place," the fa mily either traded that piece of land for the 75-acre Kennedale Farm or s old the "5-Acre Place" and used the proceeds to help by the Kennedale F arm. For more information on the Kennidale Farm, see the Notes for Wor thie Elwood Briles and Jack David Briles.
Van served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. In a phone conversati on on September 16, 2003, Van's younger sister Jeanie Briles Cookston t old her niece Susan Kniebes that Van had joined the Navy at the age of 1 7, right after he graduated from high school in 1944. He served as par t of the three-man crew of amphibious boats used to take Marines from l arger ships to the shore. He performed this duty in the South Pacific a nd in the Phillipines.
Page 604 of "The Fighting Men of Texas" (published in 1948 by the Histo rical Publishing Company of Dallas, Texas) gives the following brief ac count of Van's World War II experiences below a photograph of him in hi s Navy uniform:
"Seaman 1/c Van Gordon Briles, son of Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Briles, 3435 E . Rosedale, Fort Worth, Texas, was born March 25, 1926, in Texas. He a ttended public schools in Fort Worth, and volunteered for service June 5 , 1944, at Dallas. Was assigned to the Amphibious Branch of the Navy, r eceiving his basic training in San Diego, California. Seaman Briles se rved overseas from October 16, 1944, to December 22, 1945, participatin g in the American Campaign, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign, Philippine Libera tion and Invasion of Okinawa. Honorably discharged June 7, 1946."
The same page of "The Fighting Men of Texas" that contained Van's photo a nd brief account of his war experiences also contained the photos and w ar experiences of his brother-in-law, James D. Spencer, and his brother s, W. Elwood Briles and Connally O. Briles.
Most of the jobs that Van had after her returned from World War II invo lved working in or owning several kinds of retail establishments, inclu ding an Army-Navy store.
The list of attendees at the August 4, 1974 Briles Family Reunion at th e Legion Hall in Italy, Texas, includes Van and says that he was living i n Fort Worth, Texas.
The Social Security Administration's Death Records give Van's death dat e as January 1990. Their birth date for Van is also as reported above a nd agrees with the family records. His SS # was 466-26-3740.
On February 6, 2003, Susan Kniebes received a letter from Jewell Briles , the wife of Van's brother Con, saying that she had found the exact da te of Van's death in Con's records: January 29, 1990. It is this date t hat is reported above. On February 7, 2003, Susan received a letter fr om Bonnie Briles Stokes, Van's sister, in which Bonnie also provided th e same exact date of Van's death: January 29, 1990.
Van is buried next to his parents in Shannon Rosehill Memorial Park in F ort Worth."
(Received from George W. Durman, germannaresearch@comcast.net, 2007.)
The family had a sign on the "5-Acre Place" that said "Cottage Oaks." T he sign was painted by Elwood's father Worthie Harwood Briles, who was a s ign painter by trade. The sign looked so nice that folks going by assu med that the family was running some kind of public establishment.
Probably shortly after Van Gordon's birth on the "5-Acre Place," the fa mily either traded that piece of land for the 75-acre Kennedale Farm or s old the "5-Acre Place" and used the proceeds to help by the Kennedale F arm. For more information on the Kennidale Farm, see the Notes for Wor thie Elwood Briles and Jack David Briles.
Van served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. In a phone conversati on on September 16, 2003, Van's younger sister Jeanie Briles Cookston t old her niece Susan Kniebes that Van had joined the Navy at the age of 1 7, right after he graduated from high school in 1944. He served as par t of the three-man crew of amphibious boats used to take Marines from l arger ships to the shore. He performed this duty in the South Pacific a nd in the Phillipines.
Page 604 of "The Fighting Men of Texas" (published in 1948 by the Histo rical Publishing Company of Dallas, Texas) gives the following brief ac count of Van's World War II experiences below a photograph of him in hi s Navy uniform:
"Seaman 1/c Van Gordon Briles, son of Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Briles, 3435 E . Rosedale, Fort Worth, Texas, was born March 25, 1926, in Texas. He a ttended public schools in Fort Worth, and volunteered for service June 5 , 1944, at Dallas. Was assigned to the Amphibious Branch of the Navy, r eceiving his basic training in San Diego, California. Seaman Briles se rved overseas from October 16, 1944, to December 22, 1945, participatin g in the American Campaign, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign, Philippine Libera tion and Invasion of Okinawa. Honorably discharged June 7, 1946."
The same page of "The Fighting Men of Texas" that contained Van's photo a nd brief account of his war experiences also contained the photos and w ar experiences of his brother-in-law, James D. Spencer, and his brother s, W. Elwood Briles and Connally O. Briles.
Most of the jobs that Van had after her returned from World War II invo lved working in or owning several kinds of retail establishments, inclu ding an Army-Navy store.
The list of attendees at the August 4, 1974 Briles Family Reunion at th e Legion Hall in Italy, Texas, includes Van and says that he was living i n Fort Worth, Texas.
The Social Security Administration's Death Records give Van's death dat e as January 1990. Their birth date for Van is also as reported above a nd agrees with the family records. His SS # was 466-26-3740.
On February 6, 2003, Susan Kniebes received a letter from Jewell Briles , the wife of Van's brother Con, saying that she had found the exact da te of Van's death in Con's records: January 29, 1990. It is this date t hat is reported above. On February 7, 2003, Susan received a letter fr om Bonnie Briles Stokes, Van's sister, in which Bonnie also provided th e same exact date of Van's death: January 29, 1990.
Van is buried next to his parents in Shannon Rosehill Memorial Park in F ort Worth."
(Received from George W. Durman, germannaresearch@comcast.net, 2007.)
Events
| Birth | March 25, 1926 | Tarrant County, Texas | |||
| Death | January 29, 1990 | Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas | |||
| Burial | Shannon Rose Hill Memorial Park, Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas |
Families
| Father | Worthie Harwood "Jack" Briles (1894 - 1979) |
| Mother | Leona Hays Connally (1896 - 1980) |
| Sibling | Worthie Elwood Briles (1918 - ) |
| Sibling | Connally "Con" Oran Briles (1919 - ) |
| Sibling | Bonnie Belle Briles (1922 - 2014) |
| Sibling | Jack David Briles (1930 - 2005) |
| Sibling | Jeanie Briles ( - ) |