A native of Moline, IL, Robert R. Glendon was a Cadet Midshipman in the Merchant Marine Cadet Corps in World War II from 1944 to 1945. He sailed on the SS Cape Faro in the Pacific (Ulithi Island), the Atlantic (NY and the Straights of Gibraltar), and the Mediterranean (Naples) War Zones. From 1946 to 1947, Glendon was a PFC in the Army with the 3059 Ordnance Ser Company stationed in Osaka, Japan as a part of the U.S. Army of Occupation.