Glidden family honors WWII soldier from Palermo

The Glidden family, group on left, Buffy, Sam, Nelson, Gayle and Sue. Group on right, Amy, Laraine, Paul, Pat, Clair and Delores. (contributed photo)

Submitted by Patricia Glidden Clark

Saturday, September 30, 2023, family members of World War II soldier from Palermo, Malcolm Leroy Glidden, honored his memory with a gathering at the Malcolm Glidden American Legion Post #163, in Palermo. The presentation was put together by Post Commander Paul Hunter with documentation that he researched and obtained from the National Archives in St. Louis, Missouri, and information from other sources like Newspapers.com, Ancestry.com, Sons of Liberty Museum and American Legion records. It was supplemented by historic records, clippings and photos that Mr. Glidden’s parents, George and Esther Glidden, had saved from the 1940s. Two of their granddaughters, Patricia (Pat) Glidden Clark and sister Laraine Glidden (daughters of Malcolm’s brother Lawrence) provided a great deal of information to the Legion.

Malcolm left Palermo on March 20, 1944, at just 18 years old, to serve his country in the U.S. Army. He served in the European Theater of Operations, Signal Corp, 94th Division of General George Patton’s 3rd Army. Unfortunately, he never made it home, becoming the only soldier from Palermo to be killed in World War ll. Malcolm died in battle in Germany on March 23, 1945, near Luxembourg. He would not be returned home until April 9, 1949, and was buried on April 10, 1949, at Chadwick Hill Cemetery, in South China.

Family members in attendance were: Patricia Glidden Clark and Laraine Glidden (children of brother Lawrence Glidden); Delores Kennedy Douglas (daughter of sister Eloise Glidden Kennedy), Buffy Glidden Whitaker (daughter of Malcolm’s namesake nephew Malcolm) and son Sam, and Nelson and Gayle Glidden (children of Malcolm’s brother George). Additional family present included Amy Glidden, widow of Bruce Glidden who was brother to Buffy; Clair Clark, Pat’s spouse, and Nelson’s wife Sue. We were also joined by Paul’s wife Bonnie and daughter Chelsea.

Paul and Bonnie put together a booklet for the family with many of the significant details of Malcolm’s life and service to his country. The family is looking forward to receiving copies of the booklet for each member. At the close of the visit, Pat and Laraine presented the American flag to the Legion that had been given to them following the death of their father Lawrence in 1982.