October 27, 2004
Glauch gives years of service
Retired Major General Alden Glauch served in five wars
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
A small town boy, Traverse City native Alden Glauch traveled the world thanks to a career in the United States Air Force.
Retiring at the rank of Major General in 1981, Glauch and his wife of 64 years, Rhea, raised their two sons at airbases around the world in the midst of the Cold War.
A bona fide patriot and an exemplary military man at 84, Glauch (rhymes with "now") served in five wars. A pilot during World War II, he also helped with air transport during the Korean War, the Vietnam War and was part of missions to bring tanks and other armaments to Israel during the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War.
Glauch logged more than 8,000 flying hours over his 39-year career, most of them during significant historical happenings. He helped supply Merrill's Marauders with food and ammunition during World War II, participated in the Berlin Airlift during the beginning of the Cold War and helped design aircraft and policy that guided the Air Force for decades to come.
"It was a very satisfying career, I never dreamed I would be standing in the halls of Congress defending an airplane system," he said, of the C-141 design project he led during his five-year stint at the Pentagon in the 1960s.
Glauch never dreamed that enlisting in the Army in 1942 would lead to a career and so many opportunities to serve his country. He joined up despite being a married man with a job at the Traverse City Post Office and a young son to support. Like so many young men his age, he was spurred by the attack on Pearl Harbor.
"It just felt like my duty, like it was my job, my responsibility," he said. "We were at war and I wanted to do my duty."
Intrigued by airplanes, he trained as an aviation cadet and was commissioned as a second lieutenant and received his pilot's wings in 1943. He served two years as a fighter pilot in North Africa and later served with the 64th Troop Carrier Group in Italy, France and the China-Burma-India theater.
He said that airlift duties many times rivaled the danger of fighter pilots.
"We saw more action as troop carriers than some fighter pilots," Glauch said. "One guy took down a Japanese Zero over Burma."
In May of 1945 he returned home to Traverse City, his family and the post office. He was a member of the inactive reserve for the next three and a half years. He transferred to active status in what was now the Air Force in early 1949 and soon was involved in the Berlin Air Lift as part of the 53rd Troop Carrier Squadron based in Germany.
As the decades rolled on he rose through the ranks, retiring as commander of the 21st Air Force, which was headquartered at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey.
"What a thrill to make general, I thought I was done at full colonel," he said of receiving his first star.
Glauch's basement is lined with tributes and memorabilia. One award in particular, the Order of the Sword, is a testament to his service and dedication to the enlisted men he worked with over the years. With roots in English military history dating to 1522, the Order of the Sword is bestowed by noncommissioned officers. When Glauch received his in 1977, he was only the 27th recipient in United States history.
"It is awarded by enlisted men to officers who helped them in their careers," said Glauch, who established noncommissioned officer academies in Japan, Germany and on the East and West Coasts. "I'm an honorary senior master sergeant."
Glauch attended Boardman Elementary School and later graduated from Traverse City Senior High in 1937. An enterprising young man, he picked cherries, was a Western Union delivery boy and had multiple paper routes, working hard to save his money. The Crash of 1929 caught the ten year old, as it did so many others, and he lost his savings.
"I lost my whole fortune, $12 I saved," he said. "I wanted to buy a shotgun if my dad would let me. I finally got the money back but it took a few years."
Despite his younger and teen years falling during the Great Depression, he relishes his youthful memories and experiences of small town life.
"I thought Traverse City was a wonderful place to grow up," Glauch said. "I can't think of a better place."