William A. Glassford

Who was William A. Glassford?

Vice Admiral William Alexander Glassford was a United States Navy officer who served during World War II.

Glassford commanded naval forces of the United States Asiatic Fleet during the first month of World War II, and then relocated to Java in the Netherlands East Indies to combine his forces with the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command. His most notable battle was the Naval Battle of Balikpapan, in which he led a U.S. task force in an attack against Japanese forces that had occupied the port of Balikpapan on Borneo. When Glassford's flagships, the light cruisers USS Boise and USS Marblehead, 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.