Military Review English Edition September-October 2014 | Page 51

THE ROLE OF CHARACTER

with sentiment and nostalgia, a certain amount of sentiment was apparent. He expressed the great respect he
had for his troops. He wrote that a piece of him always
would be with the “3-4 horse,” and not the piece that
Charlie got. He said he never would forget some of the
battles and the hard times they went through together.

Enduring Character
After the war, the squadron held reunions every two
years. Otis attended when he could, even after being
promoted to general officer. The troopers found him
a fascinating storyteller as well as a good listener. Otis
seemed to remember every one of his soldiers, living
or dead. He corresponded with several and helped
them and their families when he could. For instance,
he wrote a letter to support the application of a former
soldier’s son to the U.S. Military Academy at West
Point. In later years, Otis continued to pursue the
award of the Medal of Honor to Dwight Birdwell, a
Native American who had played a heroic role in the
battle for Tan Son Nhut.
Mutual respect. Throughout his life, Otis was
known to respect the whole person and overlook
differences. For example, a junior officer who fought
alongside Otis during the battle for Saigon later became
an avid antiwar demonstrator. Their friendship and
mutual respect endured nonetheless. One of his former
captains said that to serve under his command was a
once-in-a-lifetime privilege.
As a soldier and in retirement, Glenn Otis needed
no special paraphernalia, no grenades hanging from his
belt, no crushed hat, no pearl-handled pistols, no dog
on a leash, no smoking pipe, no dangling cigar. People
who met him could tell he was a giant of a man, a true
leader of men. Glenn Otis was a person of character.

Timeless leadership. As I reflected upon my quest
to find out what was so special about Glenn Otis as
a leader, it brought me back to my first meeting with
him. The answer was right there in front of me. There
he was, standing quietly alone; a humble and thoughtful man, openly friendly to a complete stranger. He
connected with his officers and soldiers similarly. His
soldiers did not feel they worked for him but that they
worked with him. They felt Otis talked with them
rather than to them. His sincerity, humility, and a real
caring for his subordinates were the qualities that set
Glenn Otis far above his contemporaries. His example
of effective leadership is timeless.

Conclusion
Many leaders are respected. There is a distinction,
however, between respect and reverence. In the Army,
showing respect to leaders is a matter of obligation.
Soldiers show respect by deference, courtesy, and obedience. Reverence, on the other hand, is respect earned.
Soldiers who come to revere a leader show their respect
through veneration. Glenn Otis was, and still is, revered
by his troopers.
When I contacted the surviving members of the 3-4
Cavalry, I was surprised how often they said they loved
their commander. This is rather unusual coming from
a diverse bunch of rough, tough men, many of whom
grew up during the 1960s in run-down neighborhoods
or in poor, backcountry towns where survival was a
challenge and authority was not well received.
Character does far more than help a leader “determine what is right” and “do what is appropriate,” as
written in ADRP 6-22. The story of Glenn Otis shows
how a leader of character can inspire men not only on
the battlefield, but throughout their lives.

NOTES
1. Dwight W. Birdwell and Keith William Nolan, A Hundred
Miles of Bad Road: An Armored Cavalryman in Vietnam, 19671968, (Novato, CA: Presidio Press, 1997). Excerpts paraphrased
and used by permission.
2. I want to thank members of 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry,
without whose help I could not have written this paper: Dwight
W. Birdwell, Thomas Fleming, Rolland Fletcher, Jimmy Greer, Jerry

MILITARY REVIEW  September-October 2014

Headley, Oliver Jones, Ralph Martinez, Malcom Otis, Jim Ross,
William E. Shaffer, and Robert Sevene. The surviving members of
3-4 Cavalry who contributed information consistently expressed
their reverence and love for their former commander.
3. Glenn K. Otis, in “Vietnam Mechanized Operations Oral
Histories 1965-1973,” (Carlisle, PA: U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center).

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