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This young ex-GI entered the Academy well-prepared for Beast Barracks, Plebe year, and whatever came later. <em>Charles Glenn Glasgow</em> was born in Paris, TN, and at the age of twelve, he read <em>Tom Swift at West Point</em>. From then on, he was convinced he wanted to become a cadet. After high school, Glenn enlisted in the Army, attended the West Point Prep School at Ft. Scott, CA, won an Academy appointment, and was spring-loaded on arrival at the Academy. Because of his background and maturity, many of his befuddled companymates relied on him for guidance and assistance, militarily and academically.</p>
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Glenn worked hard at his studies and maintained a “hive” status, despite taking some time for athletics, and a little for frivolities. He was quiet and businesslike, but he was not averse to a session with the boys. He even had his exuberant moments—few of his division mates will forget his buoyant whoop of sheer joy when things had gone particularly well. Glenn’s big career decision came when the class was offered the option of taking flight training during First Class summer, rather than visit branch schools. He could not resist the glamour and challenge that the Air Corps presented. Along with 165 other members of his class, Glenn graduated in that unique group of Air Cadets who had already won their pilot wings before being commissioned in January 1943.</p>
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After graduation, Glenn went through B-17 transition training and was selected to be an instructor in a replacement training unit. He joined the 303rd Heavy Bomb Group (B-17s) in England and flew into combat in August 1944. On Glenn’s second mission, enemy anti-aircraft flak tore through his aircraft, and he was cut by the fragments. He recuperated quickly, but lightning struck twice: on his fourth mission, his B-17 was racked by gunfire from FW-190s and ack-ack delivered the finishing touches by exploding the plane. Glenn was blown clear with eleven pieces of flak in his leg but somehow managed to get his parachute open. Surviving the parachute landing, he was immediately captured and spent the rest of the war in German hospitals and POW camps. He was awarded two Purple Hearts and the Air Medal for his combat heroics.</p>
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In 1947, Glenn earned a master of science degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University and subsequently went back to flying in earnest, completing 129 missions during the Berlin Airlift and receiving another Air Medal. Returning to Wright-Patterson AFB, he married Patricia King of Dayton in 1950. He also was the pilot and aide to GEN Benjamin Chidlaw, commander of Air Materiel Command. As an additional duty, he checked out Shah Reza Pahlava of Iran in several aircraft, a testimony to Glenn’s piloting and instructional skills. His final assignment was as chief, Medium Transport Branch, Army Materiel Command, buying C-119s, C-123s and C-130s. Glenn and Patricia’s daughter Kathy was born while Glenn was assigned there. He resigned from the Army in 1954 as a lieutenant colonel.</p>
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After leaving the Army, Glenn joined General Dynamics in San Diego, CA, and served as their manager of contracts until 1961. His children, Karen, Craig, Kristen and Scott, were born in La Jolla, CA. In 1962, he began working for Martin-Marietta, Denver, as director of contracts. He then moved to Davenport, IA, to work as vice president and general manager of a Martin-Marietta subsidiary, Dewey Cement Co. In 1966, he became the general manager of Southeastern Co., Nashville, TN. In 1970, Glenn was named president of Laser Systems and Electronics in Tullahoma, TN, and in 1974 he became president of Renal Dialysis, Inc., in Nashville. In 1979, Glenn finally retired to Tampa, FL. His greatest career satisfaction was rescuing near-bankrupt companies and restoring their profitability.</p>
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Glenn was a lifelong and dedicated member of the Church of Christ and a knowledgeable teacher of the Bible who worked for decades to promote creationism in school curricula.</p>
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Glenn’s love of nature led him to devote much of his time to farming and beekeeping. His farm outside of Nashville allowed him to escape the city with his sons, Scott and Craig, and get back to the earth, farming corn and soybeans and raising cattle. As a beekeeper, he was often called by the state Department of Agriculture to rescue bees and manage swarms at private homes and other farms. Always aware of the requirement to be ready for “combat,” he practiced physical fitness and kept a healthy diet long before doing so became fashionable.</p>
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When his children were young, Glenn coached Little League Baseball and Pee Wee Football and supported them in their Boy Scout activities—he even taught them how to cook using the culinary skills he learned while a POW (he turned anything into a meal).</p>
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To the end, Glenn was uncompromising in his honesty and integrity. As his life story confirms, he understood and practiced “Duty, Honor, Country.”</p>
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<em>Chet Butcher Jan ’43</em></p>