Page 19 - Senior Link Magazine Fall 2023 - Online Magazine

navy
torpedoes. We got fired on some by the enemy. I was
in the chow line one day (June 12, 1951) and heard
that the USS Walke (DD-723) had been hit.” The Walke
struck a floating mine 60 miles off the coast of Korea,
damaging her port side hull, killing 26 men and
wounding another 60. That was the deadliest loss for
the US Navy during the Korean War.
During Rattan’s duty on the Bradford, the ship made
three deployments to Korea: March to August 1951;
April to October 1953; and in May 1953, she returned
to bombard the Korean Coast once again. The USS
Bradford was a highly decorated ship during both
WWII and the Korean War, earning 112 service stars
during WWII and six during the Korean War.
After the armistice was signed on July 27,
1953, Glenn’s last voyage on the Bradford was
in November 1953, as the ship returned to San
Diego. “I was assigned to the submarine tender
USS Bushnell (AS-15). We departed Mare Island
(California) and went through the Panama Canal
on our way to Naval Station Key West, where
we tended submarines. We also had periods
of service at Norfolk and short cruises in the
Caribbean. I returned home on leave in October
1953. I bought a brand new ’53 Chevy pickup
for $1225 when I got back to Matador. When my
Korean War
leave was almost up, Mom loaded me
up with a bunch of sandwiches, and I
drove all the way back to Key West—
1,850 miles! I was totally worn out. I
barely made it back in time!
“I was discharged from the Navy on
April 19, 1954, drove back home to
my folks, and started farming again. I
had a few other jobs—Chance Vought,
an aircraft manufacturer, then a steel
manufacturer, and finally, Tuboscope in
Odessa. I went back home and farmed
for a bit. I started working for the
Lubbock Fire Department in January
1960. I would go back home on my
days off to farm. I met my future wife,
Novella McGee, at a local get-together,
and we married on August 19, 1961.
We have a boy, Will, and a daughter, Pamela, five
grandkids and four great-grandkids.”
Glenn enjoyed going on the 2015 Texas South Plains
Honor Flight, with his son Will as his guardian. The
Naval Museum was his favorite stop. Glenn now lives
a quiet life at the end of his street in Idalou, where
he cares for his wife who suffers from Alzheimer’s.
Looking back on his long life, Glenn said, “I’m 92
years old now, and I know my days are numbered.
But this is not the end for me; it’s just the beginning.”
Lubbock Senior Link 19