First Lieutenant Glidden was the pilot of a F-84E Thunderjet fighter with the 7th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 49th Fighter-Bomber Group. On 27 July 1951, while on a combat mission, his engine quit and his plane crashed as he tried an emergency landing at Brady Field.

Glidden was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.