San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
War hero believed in ‘unpaid service’
Glenn Atkinson, a decorated World War II Army paratrooper who dropped behind enemy lines on DDay and was wounded by enemy fire at the Battle of the Bulge — but made it home to become a Peninsula builder, horseman and member of the Cow Palace Board of Directors — has died.
Atkinson died at home in Woodside where he owned and operated Portola Farms, a horse riding and training facility. For 35 years he walked to work and never missed a day at his barn, overseeing 100 horses and all of their trainers and riders.
He put in his usual day’s work on March 10. On March 11, his heart stopped beating, said his wife, Nancy Atkinson. He was 96.
“Glenn was a genuine hero, militarily, and as a believer in unpaid service to the people of California Agricultural District 1A, better known as the Cow Palace,” said retired Judge Quentin Kopp, who got to know Atkinson through the Cow Palace board. “His love of animals and hospitality to them at his grounds in Woodside were exceeded only by his love of country.”
As a member of the storied 101st Airborne Division, known as the Screaming Eagles, Atkinson was part of an elite lightinfantry unit that dropped into France before dawn on June 6, 1944. Their mission was to wrestle the town of Carentan from German occupation and secure a line against counterattacks.
After DDay, Atkinson’s division fought its way through the Netherlands in Operation Market Garden and on to the Battle of the Bulge. Armed with a bazooka, Atkinson ran from foxhole to foxhole in the snow while taking out five German tanks. He only stopped when he was hit by an enemy shell. He was evacuated to England, nearly lost a leg and spent months in the hospital.
For his calm and valor under fire he was awarded the Bronze Star. He also received a Purple Heart.
His wartime experience with the Screaming Eagles paralleled the portrayals in the acclaimed book and cable miniseries “Band of Brothers.”
“When Glenn first watched that, he said, ‘this is exactly like in the war,’ ” Nancy Atkinson said. “He was impressed that it was so realistic.”
The end of Atkinson’s war was cinematic in its own way. He was shipped home on a stretcher aboard the Queen
Mary, which had been converted to a troop transport. “One of his fondest memories was lying on his back looking out a porthole and seeing the Statue of Liberty come into view,” his wife said. Glenn Vernon Atkinson was born Nov. 11, 1924, in Okeechobee, Fla., where his father had a trained trick horse that appeared in “Gallant Bess,” a 1940s MGM release. Glenn got his first pony at age 5, and developed a lifelong love of horses. He was sent to a military school and enlisted in the Army as soon as he was eligible, causing him to leave school before his high school graduation.
He enlisted as a paratrooper for the $50 monthly bonus pay it brought. After the war, he came to Los Angeles to attend the University of Southern California on the GI Bill and studied architecture. He worked his way through college managing a horse facility and rode in the Rose Parade.
While still an undergraduate, he met and married Constance Smith, whose father, L.C. Smith, had a large construction company in San Mateo. Atkinson worked there for 20 years, while raising five kids on Concar Ranch, in Hillsborough.
He was active in amateur polo at the Menlo Circus Club in Atherton, with annual winter tours of Santa Barbara and Indio. “He was an amateur who played like a pro,” said his son, Jeff Atkinson, who played professional polo for 20 years.
He supported the establishment of the Gay Polo League, which awards a trophy at its annual tournament in Wellington, Fla., in honor of Atkinson.
“My dad loved everybody that he met,” said his daughter, Vickie Montgomery, who has a horse breeding farm near Hollister. “He had the best smile, the best laugh, and a twinkling in his eye for fun and adventure.”
A longtime fan of the 49ers, Giants and the old San Francisco Warriors, he had tickets to the 1975 NBA finals when the Warriors beat the Washington Bullets at the Cow Palace. Always fond of the old barn, he was appointed to the Cow Palace board in 2008 and served until 2016. His major accomplishment was keeping the Grand National Livestock Exposition, Horse Show & Rodeo coming to the Cow Palace.
He and his first wife, Constance, divorced in the early 1970s. She died in 1996. He married Nancy Reed in 1975.
The Atkinsons obtained a lease on 25 acres owned by Stanford University, near the Portola ValleyWoodside line and expanded a horse facility into a premiere training center with four large arenas, in a parklike setting. He also joined the Mounted Patrol of San Mateo County, based in Woodside.
“It was important to him to keep the horse tradition alive in Woodside,” Montgomery said. To this end, he served for many years on the Woodside Architectural Site Review Board. He wore a Stetson cowboy hat wherever he went, but always took it off before going indoors. This included Thursday nights at the Parkside Grille in Portola Valley.
He’d open a tab and take his seat at the bar. “Anybody who walked in the door, Glenn greeted and bought them a drink,” Nancy Atkinson said. “He remembered everyone’s name always and made everybody welcome all the time.”
Atkinson is survived by his wife of nearly 50 years, Nancy; sons, Larry Atkinson of San Carlos, Jeff Atkinson of Redwood City and Greg Atkinson of Placerville; daughters, Vickie Montgomery of Hollister and Carrie Atkinson of San Carlos; trusted barn manager, George Zepeda; and personal bartender, Robert Norwood.
A celebration of his life at Portola Farms is pending.