Glassford, Pelham D., 1883-1959

Glassford was born on Aug. 8, 1883 in Las Vegas, NM; raised in Denver, CO, graduating from West Point in 1904; became a field artillery officer, and served three years as an instructor at West Point; in July 1918, assumed command of the 103rd Field Artillery in the American Expeditionary Force in France during World War I; retired from the army in July 1931, and was appointed police chief of Washington, DC; in May 1932, a group of unemployed veterans known as the Bonus Army converged on the capital, petitioning for immediate payment of certificates owed them by the federal government; Glassford reluctantly complied with President Hoover's decision to evict the veterans from sections of the Federal Triangle area, and a policeman killed two veterans; against Glassford's advice, the President sent in army troops under the command of General Douglas MacArthur to disperse the veterans; on Oct. 20, the district commissioners asked for and received Glassford's resignation; in 1934 he served as an unsuccessful federal conciliator in an agricultural labor dispute in California's Imperial Valley; in 1936 he served briefly as police chief of Phoenix, AZ; spent last years in Laguna Beach, CA, where he painted, served as unofficial head of the chamber of commerce, and in 1948 organized a MacArthur for President club; died on Aug. 9, 1959.

From the description of Papers, 1904-1959. (University of California, Los Angeles). WorldCat record id: 39165345

Biography

Glassford was born on August 8, 1883 in Las Vegas, New Mexico; raised in Denver, Colorado, graduating from West Point in 1904; became a field artillery officer, and served three years as an instructor at West Point; in July 1918, assumed command of the 103rd Field Artillery in the American Expeditionary Force in France during World War I; retired from the army in July 1931, and was appointed police chief of Washington, D.C.; in May 1932, a group of unemployed veterans known as the Bonus Army converged on the capital, petitioning for immediate payment of certificates owed them by the federal government; Glassford reluctantly complied with President Hoover's decision to evict the veterans from sections of the Federal Triangle area, and a policeman killed two veterans; against Glassford's advice, the President sent in army troops under the command of General Douglas MacArthur to disperse the veterans; on October 20, the district commissioners asked for and received Glassford's resignation; in 1934 he served as an unsuccessful federal conciliator in an agricultural labor dispute in California's Imperial Valley; in 1936 he served briefly as police chief of Phoenix, Arizona; spent last years in Laguna Beach, California, where he painted, served as unofficial head of the chamber of commerce, and in 1948 organized a MacArthur for President club; died on August 9, 1959.

From the guide to the Pelham Davis Glassford Papers, 1904-1959, (University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.)