The United States Navy Memorial Stories of Service Program is honored to announce the May 2022 story of the month has been selected to recognize the service of Colonel Glenn D. Bratcher. The United States Navy Memorial Stories of Service Program was privileged to interview Colonel Bratcher at the Vinson Hall Retirement Community in the Summer of 2017.

Colonel Bratcher was born in Oklahoma and grew up on a cotton farm in Texas during the Second World War. During the war, two of his older brothers served in the United States Army and two served in the United States Navy.

He recalled learning of the events of Pearl Harbor and his parents’ receiving letters from his brothers who were fighting overseas in Europe and in the Pacific. He shared, "I am very thankful and proud of my brothers, they didn’t even get to finish high school and I look back on those days and it was totally different from my situation where I got to become an officer, it was just a different life, I’m sure. I think of those days a lot and I’m proud of my four brothers." While his brothers were fighting overseas, reminders of the war were all around him. There was a German Prisoner of War camp not far from his home and POWs worked on his family’s farm.

With the conclusion of the war, all four of his brothers would return home safely. After learning more about their experiences overseas, he knew military service would be in his future. Bratcher decided to pursue interests in finance and was the first member of his family to attend and graduate college.

A chance meeting and conversation between two friends who were about to be drafted into the Army changed his career path. Bratcher and his friends decided to enlist in the Marine Corps and embark upon a new adventure.

Upon entry, Bratcher would take an airplane for the first time and reported to MCRD San Diego. He recalled, “we were four years older than the other recruits and they made me a squad leader.” He was recognized by his Senior Drill Instructor who questioned why he didn’t enter Officer Candidate School as a college graduate? Bratcher made it clear, he wanted to be a Marine. The Senior Drill Instructor saw great leadership potential in Bratcher and put forth the necessary steps for his entry into Officer Candidate School following boot camp.

Bratcher would then be flown across the country to Quantico for OCS. He shared, “boot camp made OCS easier because I was already in good physical shape and I didn’t have to spend a lot of time learning how to march…there I was with meritorious Noncommissioned Officers and big Ivy League Schools, I had gone to a small college in West Texas. I was worried about being able to compete but as you can see, I made Colonel and I made my promotions on time.” After receiving a commission, he was sent to Basic School and became a Disbursing Officer. His next assignment was to report back to MCRD San Diego. Bratcher proudly shared, “My Drill Instructor saw that I was a Disbursing Officer and said to all of his friends, look what I did. Last year this Lieutenant was a private and now he is a Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps.” Bratcher’s Marine Corps service had started with a thunderous beginning by enlisting and becoming an officer within a year.

His service would later take him to Mountain Warfare Training School in Nevada, then to Japan, and later to Vietnam. His first tour in Vietnam was with Marine Air Group 11. He shared, “I was a little bit apprehensive about being in a combat area, but you have your Marines on your left and right and Marines take care of each other.” His second tour in Vietnam was with Marine Air Control Group 18. During this tour, the airfield came under attack by enemy fire. He shared, “I remember when you had the night duty you would stand outside and watch for the rockets coming from the mountain. If you saw this white streak, you would sound the alarm, and everyone would head for the bunker. Those things are glued to your mind… you learn to love your brother Marine and learn to count on him to help you and you help him. There is a camaraderie that’s there that I never experienced in any other group.” He served in Vietnam from 1964 to 1965 and from 1969 to 1970. Following the war, Bratcher served with distinction and reached the rank of Colonel before retiring.

The United States Navy Memorial honors United States Marine Corps Colonel Glenn D. Bratcher, featured within this series titled, Tales from the Navy Log, Story of the Month. Each month, this series honors a Veteran’s story recorded by the Stories of Service Program at the Navy Memorial. To learn more about this story and to explore the Navy Memorial archive, visit the Navy Memorial Stories of Service site at https://www.navymemorial.org/stories-of-service

To view this interview please visit the Vinson Hall Veterans Collection on the Navy Memorial Stories of Service page.