Glenn Bradley was my cousin. As he grew up in Owensboro he earned a reputation for being gregarious, an athlete, a young man of honor, and just a good all around person. He particiapted in school sports (football and baseball), school plays (Enter Laughing), and deserved the many friendships he made along the way. Glenn was my mentor, my role model. He taught me various aspects of baseball and allowed me to hang around with him even though I was his junior by 2 years. Until of course he became interested in the female gender. Then of course he couldn't have a young cousin interfering in his dates. He taught me humility, the value of keeping your word, and strength of convictions. I watched him in awe as he had a never ending stream of friends. When he was drafted in January 1969, he, like many men of that era, did not want to go. However, he was a man of integrity and moral courage. He then received orders for service in the Republic of Viet Nam. He attended Advanced Individual Training at Fort Polk, LA, and then shipped to VN in June 1969. I remember two distinct conversations or letters from Glenn about his pending and his subsequent service to America in a war where it was doubtful we should have been engaged. The first one he said he felt very reluctant to go as he didn't feel U.S. involvement was right. However, he knew he owed the service to the U.S. and would do the "right" thing. Shortly after arriving in VN, he wrote me a letter, which I still have. In it he said "if I have to die here to keep you and Randy (his brother who has since died in March 1991) from having to come here, I will". Within 3 weeks of receiving that letter Glenn was wounded in a mortar attack. He survived, losing his left arm, and struggled for two months before succumbing to a collapsed lung caused by fragments of the mortar shell which were not detected during surgery. I remember vividly the hurt the family and his community went through when word came he had died. My father, who was serving in Viet Nam at the time as well, escorted Glenn home for burial. I never saw my father cry openly but he did when he presented the United States flag to my aunt "On behalf of the President of the United States . . . " People ask me how I remember Glenn ... I say with great joy and sadness. Joy as I recall him as a child growing to be a young man anyone would be proud to know. Sadness in the sense of the potential lost for him, his family and the community. Currently, I am a Colonel in the U.S. Army. I visit the Viet Nam Memorial ("the Wall") frequently. It never gets any easier as I look at his name. He is missed and will always be a part of my life. He was, has been and continues to be a tremendous inspiration to me as I journey through life. I hope the NATION never forgets the Glenn I knew and that he is always remembered as I remember him . . . A HERO!

 

A memorial from his cousin, Henry L. Payne pay975@aol.com  6 Apr 2001 . 9 Jan 2002

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