Vietnam Veteran, Longtime Darien Resident To Serve As Grand Marshal In Upcoming Parade: 'It Means A Lot'

DARIEN, CT — Fresh off graduating from Princeton University in 1963, Ed Glassmeyer wanted to get himself in shape.

The place to improve your overall fitness was the Marine Corps, Glassmeyer had heard, so he signed up.

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"It was a fun thing I did with a friend of mine, another person from New Canaan," Glassmeyer, now 84, told Patch in a recent interview. "The two of us went into the Marines and became lieutenants."

Several decades later, Glassmeyer, a nearly 60-year resident of Darien and a veteran of the Vietnam War, will serve as the town's grand marshal for the annual Memorial Day parade on Monday, May 25.

"It means a lot," Glassmeyer said of the honor.

The grand marshal of the parade is chosen each year by the town's Monuments & Ceremonies Commission.

Emma Powless, a Darien native, graduate of the United States Military Academy, and an officer in the U.S. Military, will speak at the ceremony following the parade.

Glassmeyer attended Basic School in Quantico, Va., which served as a postgraduate school for civilians to learn how the Marine Corps operates and to choose an occupational specialty.

Glassmeyer chose to be an artillery officer, and he was commissioned and ultimately became a 1st Lieutenant.

"I wasn't planning on being a lifelong Marine," Glassmeyer said.

Within a year, Glassmeyer was ordered overseas, and he spent 13 months in Okinawa, Japan, and mostly in Vietnam.

"It turned out to be more active than I expected," Glassmeyer said of his deployment.

In 1964, shortly after getting married, Glassmeyer's wife, Penny, moved to Bangkok to be closer to him. Penny, a longtime volunteer in Darien who died in 2023, taught math at the International School of Bangkok.

Moving across the planet to be closer to each other meant a lot to Glassmeyer, he said.

Glassmeyer was part of a troop transport from Hawaii to Chu Lai, an area in the Núi Thành District, Quảng Nam Province, Vietnam. The beach in Chu Lai was chosen for a U.S. airbase, so Glassmeyer and others landed on the beach and laid out metal plates to accommodate jet fighters.

While serving in Vietnam, Glassmeyer's major assignment came during an air and ground offensive against the enemy.

Glassmeyer was tasked with calling in artillery fire to interdict Vietcong who were using Route 1, the main road in Vietnam, to position their fighters to attack U.S. forces.

"The main road was populated by the enemy who was trying to pick us off," Glassmeyer recalled. "Our plan was to kind of outflank them... We had to be pretty alert as to what was going on, because if we weren't, we were going to get our legs blown off."

Glassmeyer had the opportunity to move up to the rank of captain, but he felt he didn't have enough experience. His time in the Marines ended and he moved back to the U.S. in 1968 and settled in Darien with Penny to raise a family.

The Vietnam War ended up being one of the most unpopular conflicts in American history.

Over 58,000 U.S. military personnel died in the war. Those who returned home were treated poorly and greeted by protests and disdain for having served.

Glassmeyer said he didn't experience any hostility when he came home.

"The timing was probably better for me," Glassmeyer said. "People did not like the Vietnam War because they felt it wasn't one worth fighting. If you're in a war you don't want to be in, you'd better get out of it because you're not going to do well."

Glassmeyer's service seemed to follow him, quite literally, home.

While visiting the Darien house he lives in now, he discovered newsreel footage of himself and other troops constructing that airbase on the beach of Chu Lai.

"I had no idea I was being filmed for a movie to show that you can put an airfield on a beach and not have a jet fighter get choked by the sand," Glassmeyer said.

While he saw action in Vietnam, Glassmeyer said he "was never really awed or frightened by anything because it just seemed so mechanical to do what we were told and make it all work."

"If you're in the military, you damn well better know your job. I think that's something most people may not think about," he said.

Glassmeyer later received his MBA with distinction from The Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College, where he served as a board member for 20 years.

The theme of service continued in Darien, as Glassmeyer coached various athletic teams over the years.

He started his career at Citigroup Venture Capital and later became Managing Partner of The Sprout Group at DLJ Donaldson, Lufkin, & Jenrette. He was a founding Director of the National Venture Capital Association and received their Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005.

Glassmeyer has also led investments in or served on the boards of several information technology and telecommunications companies. Penny Glassmeyer was also active in the community and helped lead redevelopment efforts in downtown Darien.

Glassmeyer's experience in the Marine Corps personally benefited him, he said.

"It's good for you to get yourself in shape and get yourself confident," Glassmeyer said. "I'd say it helped me in my life."

Darien's Memorial Day parade will begin at 10 a.m. sharp, starting from Old King’s Market (formerly Goodwives Shopping Center), marching up the Post Road to Spring Grove Veterans Cemetery.

A commemoration ceremony honoring those who lost their lives while serving in the armed forces will take place in Spring Grove Veterans Cemetery immediately following the parade.

Darien EMS–Post 53 is scheduled to host its annual Memorial Day Food Fair from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Tilley Pond Park following the parade.