Background
William Alexander Glassford was born on June 6, 1886 in San Francisco, California.
William Alexander Glassford was born on June 6, 1886 in San Francisco, California.
Glassford attended the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland and graduated on February 12, 1906.
Early Naval He was given the rank of Passed midshipman and ordered for sea duty aboard destroyer United States Ship Preble. He spent next two years at sea, before he was commissioned Ensign (required by then law). Glassford commanded naval forces of the United States Asiatic Fleet during the first month of, and then relocated to Java in the Netherlands East Indies to combine his forces with the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command ("ABDA").
His most notable battle was the Naval Battle of Balikpapan, in which he led a United States. task force in an attack against Japanese forces that had occupied the port of Balikpapan on Borneo.
When Glassford"s flagships, the light cruisers United States Ship Boise (CL-47) and United States Ship Marblehead (CL-12), were disabled, he ordered his supporting destroyers to continue with the mission under Commander Paul H. Talbot. The attack came too late to prevent the capture of Balikpapan, and had little effect on the Japanese campaign to capture the resources of the Netherlands East Indies.
After the campaign, Glassford returned to the United States where he held a variety of positions in the 6th Naval District and the Eighth Fleet. Glassford died on 30 July 1958 and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.