Monroe Gliedman

Monroe Marvin Gliedman (born June 4, 1926) is a retired naval supply officer and orthodontist and currently teaches as a professor at the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine. He is a World War II veteran and earned the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade. He holds a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a degree from the Harvard University Naval Supply Course School, and a degree in dentistry with a concentration in orthodontics from Columbia University. He is a beloved husband, father, and grandfather to his wife, three children, and six grandchildren.
Early life
Monroe Gliedman was born on June 4, 1926, to Selig (December 25, 1882 - 1959) and Rose Gliedman (née Tobias) (January 15, 1898 - 1986), Jewish immigrants from Russia. Selig emigrated from Russia less than one month after his birth as a member of the steerage class of a passenger ship. Likewise, Rose also traveled in steerage; however, she made the trek to America several years later at the age of fourteen. In fact, her ship was traveling through the Atlantic Ocean only several hours after the Titanic sank, and so, the ship's crew helped to look for survivors of the wreck before continuing on to America.
Rose and Selig had two other children: Lester, Monroe's older brother, (April 20, 1919 - May 20, 1958) and Richard, Monroe's twin brother, (June 4, 1926 - October 10, 2002). The Gliedmans grew up in Bronx, New York. Monroe and Richard attended high school at the Bronx High School of Science and graduated one and a half years early in 1943, members of the school's third graduating class. After graduating, Monroe decided to enlist in the Navy in order to better serve his country. However, before he went into active service, he attended MIT and earned his degree in aeronautical engineering. At the time, he thought that a job as an engineer was his calling; however, it was not until after the War that he realized his true calling was, in fact, the field of dentistry.
Career
The Navy
upon being chosen to escort President Truman to Key West, Florida in 1947.]]
Monroe enlisted in the Navy on November 1, 1943, along with his twin brother, Richard. After graduating from MIT in February 1946, the Gliedman brothers attended the Harvard University Naval Supply Course School, graduating six months later. It was there that they learned the basic skills they would need to manage the supply department of a naval ship. Monroe was released from active duty on May 1, 1947, and Richard on May 18, 1947. Monroe's older brother, Lester, was also a member of the armed forces; he was drafted into the Army Ground Forces in August 1941 as a buck private. A mere two years later, though, he became the army's youngest lieutenant colonel and served as a member of the Adjutant General's Department. Lester was discharged in 1946.
Despite the close bond that Monroe and Richard shared and their inseparable past, they were not permitted to spend their time in the Navy together. For according to a corollary of the Sole Survivor Policy, siblings in the armed forces are not to be stationed at the same military base, on the same naval ship, etc. The policy was created by Congress in an attempt to prevent the tragedy of the Sullivan Brothers, all five of whom were killed on November 13, 1942, when a Japanese ship torpedoed the , from befalling additional families. Thus, in July 1946, Monroe set sail as a member of the , headed for the Atlantic Ocean. Richard, on the other hand, set sail for the Pacific Ocean, interestingly, as a member of two ships: the and the (he would eventually leave the and only work on the ).
The was a . It was launched on March 17, 1945, and was decommissioned in May 1966. During his time on the ship, Gliedman was the only supply officer, a prestigious position, especially for someone so young. The ship's crew was held in high esteem, its true recognition coming in March 1947 when it was ordered to escort President Truman and the Presidential yacht to Key West, Florida. In addition to its impeccable reputation, the was an ideal ship for this task because it was a seaplane tender. Seaplane tenders are constructed with extra bedrooms so as to provide seaplane pilots a place to rest while at sea. Over the course of the trip, these accommodations housed all of the President's associates, more specifically, his paparazzi.
Orthodontics
After the War ended in 1945, the country possessed a surplus of planes. Without the need to produce more, aeronautical engineers, such as Monroe and Richard, were not in demand. Consequently, being the academic scholars that they were, the pair decided to go back to school. Monroe and Richard entered the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine in September 1948. In June 1952, they received a degree in dentistry, graduating as the first and second members of their class, respectively. Still, they were not finished. Monroe and Richard spent two more years as students at Columbia graduating in 1954, with certificates in orthodontics. Beginning that fall, the brothers began to teach as volunteer professors at the University. Richard continued to lecture there until his death in 2002 and Monroe still teaches there to this day.
Upon graduating Columbia, the newly minted Dr. Monroe Gliedman and Dr. Richard Gliedman decided to open their own orthodontics office in New Rochelle, New York. In addition, each brother also opened an office at their respective Scarsdale residences to ensure they were always available for their patients. After an astounding forty-nine years of success, the brothers decided to close the business in 2001. They sold their New Rochelle office to Dr. Shany Park, who ran it until 2009. Thousands of people from the Westchester County, New York area owe their bright and shining smiles to the hard work of Drs. Monroe and Richard Gliedman.
Personal life
Today Monroe lives in Scarsdale, New York. He is married to his wife of fifty-seven years, Grace Gliedman (née Wolosker) (born August 11, 1937), a German Jewish immigrant who he met in 1958. Grace emigrated from Germany in 1939, sailing to Brazil and, soon after, America. Interestingly, although Grace speaks fluent German and lived in Germany for the first several years of her life, she is actually a British citizen. In an act of incredible foresight, Grace's mother, Lisa Wolosker, flew to England only days prior to Grace's birth to ensure that, should German anti-Semitism increase in the coming years, her daughter would not have to bear a German nationality. Eleven days after her birth, Lisa and Grace, the youngest passenger to have flown on that plane, returned home to Germany.
Monroe and Grace were introduced by Richard Gliedman's soon to be wife, Carole Freeman, who had known Grace since her teenage years. After several months dating, Monroe proposed. The wedding took place on June 30, 1959. Two years later, the couple had their first child, a girl named Wendy. Today, Monroe has three children, Wendy, Michael, and John, and six grandchildren, Nina, Allie, and Vicky Beizer, Daniel and Jacob Gliedman, and Shayna Gliedman. His passions include drawing and painting (skills that he has helped to pass on to his children and grandchildren), telling stories of his childhood, and watching television shows, such as The Big Bang Theory and , with his family members. His family is truly grateful to have him in their lives and they love him dearly.
Publications
A Preliminary Study of the Significance of Tooth Size in Malocclusion (1953)

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