Glenn Greening was an American hero.
He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1939 and was soon flying combat missions during World War II. In all he flew 86 combat missions in the South Pacific.
Glendale Police Department- Glenn Greening, 60
He won four bronze stars and an additional 20 awards.
“He’d seen so much,” said Sgt. J. Bang of the Glendale police department. “I thought his military record was incredible.”
Greening retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1967 at the rank of senior master sergeant.
After his retirement he worked as a salesman. He was married and had one daughter.
Greening traveled to Denver on Feb. 24, 1981 on a business trip. He met two friends in the bar of the Landmark Hotel for drinks around 5:30 p.m.
Greening went alone to the Colorado Mine Company in Glendale on the 4400 block of East Virginia Avenue at 7 p.m. and was finished by 7:45 p.m.
He and his two friends met at the Landmark Hotel bar at 8 p.m. At 9:30 p.m., the three men went to the Rodeo Lounge on the 400 block of South Colorado Boulevard.
A few minutes later, Greening left the lounge. There likely were a lot of people walking around in the parking lot at the time, Bang said.
There were several nightclubs and bars in the area and people often walked from bar to bar at night, he said. Rarely did anyone get into trouble.
Greening’s body was found lying in the parking lot near the lounge at 11:25 p.m.
He had apparently been shot during a robbery. His wallet was missing. He was 61.
“It’s a stranger crime,” Bang said.
He speculated that with Greening’s military background he may have resisted the robber.
“It didn’t go like the robber wanted and Mr. Greening got shot,” Bang said.
Bang said he believes someone must have seen something, but no one came forward. It’s possible someone saw what happened, got scared and fled.
Still, Bang said he believes the murder that he believes was a random robbery could be solved.
The killer may have said something to a girlfriend or spouse and they later split. If that person came forward Glendale officers could solve the case, Bang said.
Greening was a hero, he said. He didn’t deserve his fate: getting shot in a parking lot some late winter’s night and left lying on the pavement.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the Glendale Police Department at 303-607-2589.
Denver Post staff writer Kirk Mitchell can be reached at 303-954-1206. Facebook.com/kmitchellDP or Twitter.com/kmitchellDP.