Michael Thomas Glynne

West Point, 1965

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Vereen on February 15, 2002:

MICHAEL THOMAS GLYNNE 18 March 1944-28 May 1966 USMA 1965 He and my brother, Tom were friends---we had grandmothers in Thomasville, GA,---which is were Tom and Mike met and were Mike is buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery. I only recall meeting Mike once for about 10 minutes in the summer of 1962 when he came through New Orleans. Over the years he has risen unbidden from that moment; I have often pondered why. After September 11th, he came to haunt me and I began a web search and as well as an internal search in order to answer that question. My only memory of Mike is his lounging against our kitchen table, dressed in his "India" uniform, and laughing about his experience the night before with a blind date in the French Quarter. The joke was his date had decided that she wanted a watermelon, and Mike, being in uniform, could not carry anything. Therefore, his solution was to hire a street person for $ 2 to carry the watermelon and follow them around all night. I think the reason this made me remember him so, besides the great visual, is the integrity and honor that it signifies. No one would know if he was out of uniform, or had carried something except him. That sense of personal values does not seem to exist to day. He brought honor on himself, West Point and his country. In searching the Web and with the help of West Point, I found a few facts: His death is recorded in the book, "Battles in the Monsoon" by S. L. A. Marshall (which is taught at West Point) pp. 259-268 as LZ 10 Alpha, 28-29 May 1966. Mike was the unknown platoon leader killed. See www.geocities.com/walk35th/aars/aar235/aar lz10a.htm (35th Infantry Regiment) Mike was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star, and Purple Heart; his Unit received a Unit Citation. Mike had arrived in Vietnam in 6 January 1966, and had just celebrated his 22nd birthday. He was paid $ 294.60 a month. He was from NYC and had gone to the Hill School in PA before his appointment to West Point. He graduated 66/596 in his class. He was the 2nd member of the class of 1965 to die in Vietnam. He was a track star, a lover of music, a member of the choir, and a fluent speaker of Russian. He had a sister Linda who loved him very much. Vereen@bellsouth.net February 14, 2002 PS> I couldn't paste his yearbook picture in--I hope you will--All the guys should have them published. Thanks

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