Lt. Col. Glen Russell Wilson
We knew him as Lt. Glen Wilson and he was at the 482nd from 1957 to at least 1960.
During Vietnam Lt. Colonel Wilson flew 125 combat missions and was shot down once, but he was quickly recovered. Another officer, with the same name, was also shot down and was held as a POW for 5 and a half years. Glen stayed in 20 years, retiring as Lt. Colonel, and then tried his hand at various things, among them a Chrysler-Plymouth dealership and selling stock.
At the 482nd, Lt Wilson and I were always compatible, but really became friendly when he learned I was from Madison, Indiana as he was a fellow Hoosier and had put in a year at Hanover College, just down the road, and he was very familiar with the hangouts of my home town...so Glen often stopped by the NADAR station to chat. I always liked this story but have forgotten the where and when of it...before the F-102, Lt. Wilson was an F-86 pilot and told this story:
(On takeoff) I had just cleared the runway, maybe a couple hundred feet up, maybe less, when the engine flamed out. The ground ahead was closed so I risked ejection. I remember my chute opened and swung twice before I hit the ground. Luckily it had been raining and the ground was real mushy. You go through shock when that happens and your ears are ringing. One minute you're taking off in an F-86 and the next minute you've been blasted into the air and are standing on the ground trying to account for your parts and their condition. So after finding out I was ok, I just stood there and slowly pulled in my parachute, folding it up, and tucking it under one arm, waiting for the ambulance to pick me up. No one came. Everything went to the crash site. So I walked in that direction. When I got there, I saw men frantically running about the fuselage. I asked an NCO that I came up behind, "What are they doing?" And he said without turning to me, "They're trying to find the pilot!" I said, "Hell, I'm the pilot!" I had bailed out so low that nobody had seen the chute open.
Col. Wilson remained a very active person throughout his life as this article from the April 6, 2000, Bloomington, Indiana, newspaper shows referencing the annual (cutter) bike races:
Glen's daughter, Virginia Amend, tells us that Glen was not able to compete in the race above because while out training he was run off the road by a truck and substantially injured.
The very first crew of men from the South Hall dormitory won the race in
1950 by 16 laps because they trained more seriously than anyone else.
One of them, Glen Wilson, 70, a retired Air Force pilot, has been
preparing hard for the alumni bike races that will be held during race
weekend. "It would be so much fun to be the oldest one there and kick
butt," he says.
Wednesday, October 17, 2001
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Glen Wilson
Glen R. Wilson, 71, died Saturday at a Summerlin hospital. He was born Jan. 23, 1930, in Indianapolis. A retired Air Force veteran of the Vietnam War and recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Purple Heart and 13 air medals, he was a 15-year resident of Henderson and a member of Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association and F-86 Sabre Pilots Association.
He is survived by his daughters, Virginia Amend of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Deborah Hammersmith of Reno; brothers, Leroy of London, Thomas of San Jose, Calif., and Robert of Reedville, Va.; and three grandchildren. Graveside service will be at 12:40 p.m. Friday at Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery. Palm Mortuary-Eastern handled arrangements.
[See marker photograph.]
ADDENDUM: Daughter Virginia says that Glen was born in Crothersville, Indiana...and that he died while assisting ESPN at the Senior Masters golf tournament in Las Vegas. He hadn't been feeling well that day and was found unconscious sitting against a tree...efforts to revive him were futile. The emergency room doctor said Glen had died of a sudden and massive heart attack.