Lance Corporal Michael D. Glover (1978-2006), a native of Belle Harbor, died during combat operations in Iraq as part of the Marine Forces Reserve.
Born January 19, 1978, Glover grew up on Beach 134th Street, moving to Garden City, NY when he was 6 years old. He graduated from Xavier High School and then studied business at the University of Albany, graduating in 2001. He spent a year at Pace Law, but dropped out to join the Marines in 2004, as a response to how he felt following the attacks of September 11, 2001. The attacks impacted him and his community deeply. His uncle, Peter Hayden, was a fire chief who led rescue operations at the site, and one of his close friends who worked in the World Trade Center died during the attack.
He sought out opportunities to help throughout his life. After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, he drove to the city with supplies and helped with boat rescues, for which he was awarded the Navy And Marine Corps Achievement Medal.
Assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve in Albany, he was on patrol in Al Anbar Province, Iraq on August 16, 2006 when he and his platoon commander, Captain John McKenna of Brooklyn, were surprised by insurgent fire and killed.
Glover was loved by many. He had a tight-knit family and developed friendships during every period of his life. Hundreds of community members came out to honor him for his funeral services at Saint Francis De Sales Church in Belle Harbor on August 26, 2006.
This street near his childhood home, at Beach 134th St at the corner of Beach Channel Drive, was named in his honor on August 3, 2013, and is just one of a few memorials to Glover in the area. There is also a flag pole located near the corner of Beach 129th Street and Newport Avenue was dedicated to him on June 14, 2024.
Alan Feuer, "Mourning a Marine, Remembering the Man," The New York Times, August 27, 2006. https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/27/nyregion/27funeral.html
"Biography: Glover, Lance Cpl. Michael D.," Marines: The Official Website of Marine Corps Forces Reserve, accessed October 30, 2024
David B. Caruso, "Slain Marine was inspired by 9/11," Democrat and Chronicle, August 27, 2006, via newspapers.com
"Honoring Michael Glover," The Wave, July 26, 2013
John Schilling, "Honoring A Hometown Hero," The Wave, June 21, 2024
"LCPL Michael Dennis Glover" findagrave.com, accessed September 15, 2022