Donald Robert Colglazier

West Point, 1968

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Greg Johnson, LtCol USMC (Ret) on March 1, 2005:

Don was a senior in high school (Havelock High) when I was a freshman. We lived near each other on the Marine Corps Air Station at Cherry Point, N.C. Don was quiet and a physically awkward kind of guy. But he was always friendly and definitely not a quitter. He worked hard and used his smarts to earn a starting position on the varsity football team. That year we ended up playing in the state high school football finals. We lost, but were proud of our accomplishment. About that time, many of us moved away, as our fathers began receiving orders to go to a place called Vietnam. I lost contact with Don, but heard he went to West Point where he distinguished himself. I later heard that he had died in combat in Vietnam, just as I was coming into the Marine Corps following graduation from college. Don would not be the first classmate I would lose to Vietnam. Don set the example for all of us to emulate. He did not die in vain. Don made a sacrifice so that all of us today can enjoy the fruits of a great nation. I have a son at West Point now. I'm confident he will measure up to the standards set forth by Don. Both are far better men than me.

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