Glenn E Chatfield
SGT US Army
June 1970-Feb 1975
Glenn enlisted in the Army under the 120-day delayed entry program two months prior to his 18th birthday during his senior year at Springfield, OH, North High School. He entered active duty June 17, 1970 only to learn his Basic Training unit was the next-to-last class of Basic Training at Ft. Bragg, NC. Late August, Glenn was sent to Ft. Leonard Wood, MO, for Combat Engineer AIT. After one week he volunteered for a two week course at the Leadership Preparatory School before being reassigned to another EAIT unit, from which he graduated with an “Outstanding Trainee Award.”
Glenn started jump school at Ft. Benning the first week of January 1971, in the largest class in history. He was then assigned to B Company, 47th Engineer Battalion (Combat)(Airborne). On January 31, 1972 the unit was reflagged as the 27th Engineer Battalion (Combat)(Airborne), which Glenn remained assigned to until ETS on February 27, 1975.
In January 1972 Glenn won the Battalion Soldier of the Month and the following month the 35th Engineer Group Soldier of the Month. Also during that month he graduated at the top of his class from a 5-day leadership school. At the end of February 1972, Glenn re-enlisted for present duty to guarantee he’d be able to finish acquiring a commercial pilot license at the Flying Club.
In January 1973, Glenn was attached to HHC as the Operations and Training clerk. In March of 1974, while still attached to HHC, he was assigned the position of battalion Training NCO, a position which he held until October that year when he was relieved from attachment and assigned as B Company’s Operations and Training NCO until ETS.
A highlight of Glenn’s time with the 27th was when they built a pontoon bridge at Hilton Head Island, SC, in April 1974 after a barge crashed into the only bridge connecting to the mainland. Glenn was assigned as the liaison between the military and the civilians and so lived in a motel on the island and had his own jeep while everyone else slept on the mainland in GP medium tents and ate at a USMC field kitchen supplied by Camp Lejeune.
Another very memorable time was during his last leave during the first two weeks of August 1974 when Glenn met the woman he would later marry in 1976!
After leaving the Army, Glenn spent a short time as a carpenter’s apprentice, then 3 1/2 years with the Main Post Office in Columbus, OH. While looking for a flying job he was accepted by the FAA to be an air traffic controller for the next 30 years until retirement at age 56 (2008). Glenn started at Chicago Center in Aurora, IL, then in August 1981 transferred to DuPage Tower, West Chicago, IL where he ended up being a supervisor for 10 years prior to transferring to Cedar Rapids on December 1, 1995. Six weeks after retirement, Glenn was hired for 18 months as a contract instructor.
While working at the DuPage Airport Traffic Control Tower, West Chicago, Glenn joined the local Civil Air Patrol Composite Squadron. He was initially assigned the duty of Aerospace Education Officer and was later promoted to Deputy Commander for Cadets.
Glenn has also been active teaching high school and adult Sunday school in churches as he and his family moved around the country.
Glenn plays with the Highland bagpipes and with them has been active with American Legion honor guards, Honor Flights, funerals, and other events. Because he’s played for the fire department honor guards for the annual Firefighters Memorial Service in Coralville since 2000, Glenn was appointed as an honorary fire fighter in 2010 by the Iowa Firemen's Association.
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