After World War II, Germany was divided into what became two sectors: West Germany, controlled by the Western Allies (United States, Great Britain and France), and East Germany, controlled by the Soviet Union. The capital city of Berlin, located deep within Soviet-controlled East Germany, was also divided in two: West Berlin and East Berlin.
In June 1948, the Soviet Union blockaded West Berlin. The Soviets cut off all land and water access to the city with the goal of forcing Western Allies to abandon their claim to the German capital. At the time, there were more than two million people living in war-torn West Berlin.
During the blockade, the United States and Great Britain used cargo planes to transport more than 2.3 million tons of food, fuel and supplies to the people of West Berlin. The US Air Force delivered approximately 75 percent of the cargo, and provided logistical support for the operation. This support included maintenance and equipment support for 340 U.S. cargo planes.
In order to keep the people of West Berlin fed and warm, airlift flights landed within minutes of one another, 24 hours a day, at three different airports, for 18 months. All told, about 190,000 U.S. Air Force flights brought food, fuel and supplies to West Berlin during the blockade.
Brattleboro’s Bayard Grant found himself in the middle of this conflict. At the time, he was an Air Force supply control officer at Erding Air Depot in West Germany. When the Berlin Blockade began his responsibilities quickly expanded to include acquiring and supplying all of the radar, radio and communication equipment necessary for every U.S. Air Force plane involved in the airlift.
Bayard Grant was born in Brattleboro in 1916. His grandfather had moved to the area in 1883. Charles Grant operated a granite quarry in West Dummerston and, after a few years, built a stone shed for granite monument production on the island between Brattleboro and Hinsdale. The Grant Monument Works would continue until 1947.
Bayard graduated from Brattleboro High School in 1934. He was a four-year honor roll student who finished third in his class. His senior essay, published in the Dial Yearbook, was entitled, “Why Further Education?” Bayard argued that education beyond high school would likely increase a person’s earning capacity, and also benefit society. He wrote that continuing to pursue education throughout life would allow a person, “to keep in step with the times and advance whenever such action is necessary.” As time passed, Bayard would live up to those words.
He graduated from UVM in 1939 with a degree in economics. After a 100-mile canoe trip down the Connecticut River, Bayard took a job in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts in the production planning department of U.S. Rubber Company. The company made tires for automobiles. In the evenings he was also studying accounting at Bay Path Institute.
However, in March of 1940, with war tensions mounting, Bayard signed with the National Guard and left his job to join military service. He was stationed at Camp Edwards in Falmouth, Massachusetts and assigned to the communications and supply unit.
In February of 1943 Bayard graduated from Officer Training School and was promoted to second lieutenant. He also completed Administration and Supplies School. Both of these were located in New Jersey. It was during this time that he met his future wife, Eula Bruce, in New York City. She was working as an instructor at a NYC business school and was originally from Barre, Vermont. They were soon married in New York City. They remained together for the rest of their lives and had two children.
In September 1943, Bayard completed a Radio and Radar Communications and Management course at the University of Wisconsin, was promoted to first lieutenant, and then stationed at an airbase in Dayton, Ohio. He was responsible for purchasing radio, radar, telephone and other communication equipment for the base and aircraft. Throughout World War II, Bayard served in the United States.
The war in Europe ended when Germany surrendered in May of 1945. A few months later, Bayard was promoted to captain and transferred to Germany to be a member of a 3,300-soldier occupation force. He was responsible for establishing and maintaining a supply network for aircraft radar and communication equipment at Erding Air Depot in Germany. When the Berlin Blockade began his responsibilities increased to include all 340 aircraft connected with the airlift. These aircraft flew in and out of three different airports and needed constant maintenance and equipment support.
The Berlin Airlift proved successful and the Soviet Union faced international condemnation for its attempt to force Western Allies to abandon West Berlin by blocking food and fuel supplies. Captain Bayard Grant stood firm with the U.S. Air Force as the United States worked with its Allies to stop the Soviet Union from expanding into Europe.
Bayard Grant would continue his education in the military. In 1954, after serving in Korea, Lieutenant Colonel Grant attended Armed Forces Staff Officers College and then receive an assignment in the Pentagon. In 1958 he completed a logistics course at Officers Advanced Training College and was stationed in Wiesbaden, Germany for his fifth overseas tour. In 1962 Bayard Grant came home to Brattleboro to visit his folks and participated in the BHS Alumni Parade. He was on leave from his assignment in Germany and won the award for traveling the furthest to attend the alumni festivities.
In 1964 Bayard received another promotion and became a full colonel in the U.S. Air Force. The next year he once again furthered his education and completed a Defense Advanced Procurement Management course. As a result, he was appointed special assistant to the Director of the Defense Fuel Supply Center. This agency was responsible for sourcing and managing all of the petroleum and coal used by U.S. military forces worldwide.
Colonel Bayard Grant retired from the military in 1970 and settled near his last assignment at Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. His family had moved with him during his many assignments across the country, and around the world. He would spend his last years enjoying ranch life in rural Texas.
Bayard Grant continued to stay in contact with relatives and friends in the Brattleboro area and supported his old school. In 1981 he donated to the BUHS fund drive for the band trip to Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and in 1996 he donated to the BUHS football field lights fundraiser. In this case, Bayard’s belief that there was value in continuing education beyond high school proved to be true. We honor his service and appreciate how his generation sacrificed to save Europe from Nazi and Soviet aggression.
