Remains of Army Sgt. 1st Class Douglas J. Glover recovered 3 years ago.
John Michael Glover of Cortland holds a portrait of his father, Army Sgt. First Class Douglas Glover, who had been missing in action since 1968, when a helicopter he was in came under fire during a rescue mission in Laos. His family was notified last week that remains found at the site were identified as Glover's. A burial is planned in Arlington National Cemetery in the spring. Behind Glover is a Vietnam memorial dedicated to Cortland County veterans. Cortland, NY - As the POW-MIA flag swirled in the cool breeze over the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Cortland’s Courthouse Park, John Michael Glover pointed to his father’s name on the granite memorial.
The black flag has always touched “Mike” Glover, 44, who lives in Cortland. His father, Army Sgt. 1st Class Douglas J. Glover, a special forces Green Beret, was killed during a helicopter rescue mission in Laos 42 years ago.
His remains were never recovered until three years ago. Last week, the military publicly disclosed that it had positively identified the remains of Sgt. Glover and two of his team members.
“I never thought this day would happen,” said Mike Glover, who was about a year old when his father left him and his mother, Rosemarie, for Vietnam.
Glover, who has no siblings, said he always feared that his father might have died a long torturous death as a prisoner of war. It’s a relief, he said, knowing that his father probably died in the firefight.
“In the back of my mind, I always hoped that he didn’t suffer,” said Glover, 44, who bears a striking resemblance to his father.
Now Glover, with his mother’s help, is preparing to bury his father with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery — possibly in the spring.
“I’m just glad we’re going to finally be able to put him at peace,” Glover said. “There won’t be final closure until we see the coffin lowered into the ground.”
The burial at Arlington will bring his father’s military career full circle. His father, a Cortland native, enlisted in the Army in 1963. Before he joined the Green Berets, he served with an honor guard that escorted military funerals at Arlington.
In April 1964, Glover, an accomplished horseman as a youth, walked Black Jack — the president’s riderless horse — at Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s funeral.
Less than four years later, Glover — then 24 — was the leader of an Army helicopter rescue team that was shot down over Laos on Feb. 19, 1968. Glover was one of three American soldiers killed when they tried to pick up a reconnaissance patrol in the mountains of Attapeu Province, according to Air Force Maj. Carie Parker, of the U.S. Defense Department.
Their helicopter was crippled by enemy fire as they attempted to lift off, Parker said. Two other Army helicopters on the mission escaped.
The military tried unsuccessfully to find the remains of the three soldiers in 1995 and 2006. In October 2007, they discovered their remains and helicopter wreckage, Parker said. Dental records were used to identify Glover’s remains.
To this day, Mike Glover wears a thin, stainless-steel POW-MIA bracelet that became popular in the 1970s. His bracelet, like the flag over the memorial, holds special meaning for him. His father’s name and date of death are engraved on the thin band.
Even though his father is coming home, Glover said he would continue to wear the bracelet on his left wrist just as he has done for the past 30 or so years.
“It’s a constant reminder of what he represented,” Glover said. “He fully believed in what he was doing, and I’ve always been so proud of him. And I’ll wear it for the ones who are still missing and the ones who came with no limbs.”
Contact Scott Rapp at srapp@syracuse.com or 289-4839.