In the above photo is my step-grandfather, Glendell L. "Glen" Hammond, c. 1960's. It is one of the few photograph's in my possession of him. He is a big mystery to me. Did he fall of the face of the earth?
The last time I saw him was in March of 1974 on the farm he shared with my grandmother in Central Florida. My grandmother had passed away three months prior in December 1973. I remember thinking he looks lost. What I know of "Glen" as he was called, has come from census records, memories, a few pictures and missing air crew report from February 1944 when the plane he was in crashed. I have tried contacting my aunt several times to see if she knew how to find him but she told me that they lost contact after he remarried. Remarried? When? Who did he remarry?
Glen was born in 1924 in Harrisburg, Saline, Illinois to Walter Lee Hammond and his wife Emma (maiden name unknown) and was the youngest of their four children. According to the 1930 Census Glen and his family are living in East Eldorado, Saline, Illinois. His father is listed as Walter, age 45, occupation is listed as miner; his mother Emma is age 38, his brother Aaron is age 17 and a farm laborer, Glen is age 7, his sister Opal is age 14 and his brother George is age 13. They are listed as being in school and doesn't appear that his mother works outside of the home.
The next concrete piece of information I have for Glen, are the pages of the Missing Air Crew Man's Reports (MACR's). The pages I have included are the page in which my grandfather gave his statement, the page that lists contact persons to be notified, and the report given by the copilot who was injured in the crash of the plane and subsequently captured by the Japanese and rescued.
In early 1944 my grandfather was stationed in or near Chabua, India. Cpl. Glendell L. Hammond was the radio operator, on the fateful flight when he and his fellow crew members, The pilot was 1st Lt. Harold H. Barton, the copilot was 2nd Lt. Raymond R. Bagby, and the engineer was Charles W. Lineithum (rank unknown). They were forced to bail out at 0430 hours on February 17, 1944 because their plane was running out of fuel. He saw his other three crew members parachutes open. Glen states that he did not see the copilot or the navigator after bailing out. Glen noted that the plane did not explode on impact and that he did not inspect it afterwards. He states that he landed near Myitkynia, Burma and contacted his pilot on the same day.
I always thought he was handsome from his pictures as a young man. He married my grandmother Peggy Scott Rich on March 26th, 1944 in Broward County, Florida. My grandmother had been widow for nine years at this point and I am glad she found love again. One year later in April of 1945 my grandmother gave birth to their only child, a little girl named Peggy Ann. Below is the marriage certificate for Glen and my grandmother, Peggy.
In the Florida State Census of 1945 I find Glenn, Peggy, my Aunt Sally, my Dad and my Aunt Peggy living at 209 Fernway Dr., Miami Springs, Florida. This is the same address that was listed on the MACRs for him and it dated April 6th, 1944. Glen and Peggy were married on March 26th of he same year. I have repeatedly said math is not my friend however, even I can do this math! Glenn and Peggy must have married as soon as got home on leave after the crash of his plane.
My grandmother died on December 30, 1973 in Polk County, Florida at age 57 from lung cancer. At the time we were living in Dayton, Ohio while my Dad was in training with NCR. He flew down and flew home right after the funeral. What happened to you Glen? Are you still living? Will I ever know the mystery of how and where you died?
Sources:
1930 U. S. Census, database and images, Family Search (https://familysearch.org : accessed 19 June 2015), entry for Glendal Hammond, East Eldorado, Saline, Illinois; citing enumeration district (ED) 0005, sheet 3B, family # 72, Line 99; citing NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), FHL microfilm: 2,340,289.
Florida Death Index, 1877-1998, database, Family Search (https://familysearch.org : accessed 19 June 2015), entry for Peggy R. Hammond, 30 December 1973; from Florida Death Index, 1877-1998, index, citing from Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com: 2004); citing volume_, certificate number 89089, Florida Department of Health, Office of Vital Records, Jacksonville.
Florida Marriages, 1830-1993, database and images, Family Search (https://familysearch.org : accessed 19 June 2015), entry for Glendell L. Hammond and Peggy R. Williams, 26 March 1944; citing Broward, Florida, United States, county courthouses, Florida; FHL microfilm 2,241,560.
Florida State Census, 1945, database and images, Family Search (https://familysearch.org : accessed 19 June 2015, entry for G. L. Hammond, Dade, Florida; citing line 40, State Archives, Tallahasse; FHL microfilm 2,425,707.
Missing Air Crew Reports (MACRs) of the U.S. Army Air Forces, 1942-1947, Fold 3 (https://www.fold3.com : accessed 19 June 2015) entry for Glendell L. Hammond, Year 1944; citing NARA Cataglog ID # 3025256, Serial # 41-24682, Report # 3010 (Washington, D.C.: Nationa Archives Administration, n.d.)
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