Bruce Grant, son of Lt. Gen. Harold W. Grant, looks through the cases of historical photos and artifacts located in the atrium of the building dedicated in the late general’s honor, as Col. Curt Piontkowsky, commander of the Air Force Network Integration Center, observes. The building, located on Scott Air Force Base, Ill., houses AFNIC. The general was the first commander of the Air Force Communications Service, an early predecessor of AFNIC. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Teresa Jennings)
Corinne Grant (from left), daughter-in-law; Andrew Grant, grandson; Bruce Grant, son; Christopher Grant, grandson; Katie Grant, granddaughter, family members of the late Lt. Gen. Harold W. Grant, pose near a portrait of the general at the entrance of the building named in his honor. The building, located on Scott Air Force Base, Ill., houses the Air Force Network Integration Center. The general was the first commander of the Air Force Communications Service, an early predecessor of AFNIC. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Teresa Jennings)
Bruce Grant views the plaque on the Lt. Gen. Harold W. Grant building that commemorates his father’s legacy. The building, located on Scott Air Force Base, Ill., houses the Air Force Network Integration Center. The general was the first commander of the Air Force Communications Service, an early predecessor of AFNIC. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Teresa Jennings)
Then Maj. Gen. Harold W. Grant, the commander of the Air Force Communications Service, speaks with Gen. Curtis LeMay, chief of staff of the Air Force, July 1, 1961, about the re-designation of the Airways and Air Communication Service to AFCS and its elevation to a major air command. (U.S. Air Force photo)
Lt. Gen. Harold W. Grant is recognized as a communications pioneer who avidly worked to ensure Air Force operators had the best communications support possible. Throughout his more than 35-year Air Force career he held numerous communications and leadership positions, including serving as the first commander of the Air Force Communications Service from 1961-1962. AFCS was an early predecessor of the Air Force Network Integration Center at Scott Air Force Base, Ill. (U.S. Air Force photo)
by Katherine Kebisek
Air Force Network Integration Center
3/31/2011 - SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (AFNS) -- Air Force Network Integration Center officials welcomed the family and friends of Lt. Gen. Harold W. Grant here March 28 to learn more about the late general's legacy and see firsthand the building named in his honor.
Grant is recognized as a communications pioneer who avidly worked to ensure Air Force operators had the best communications support possible. Throughout his more than 35-year Air Force career he held numerous communications and leadership positions. He was the first commander of the Air Force Communications Service, an early predecessor of AFNIC, from 1961-1962. Under his leadership, the command's more than 50,000 Airmen provided airways communications, air traffic control, much of the long-haul and some base-level communications.
The Lt. Gen. Harold W. Grant building was dedicated in 1989 and houses various base organizations including AFNIC and the Air Mobility Command Directorate of Communications. The facility features a heritage hall with numerous historical artifacts that tell the story of the Air Force communications and information mission, including several highlights of Grant's contributions.
Grant's son Bruce was particularly impressed with how his father's legacy had been preserved and is still honored today.
"I had no idea there was this level of attention to detail to the mission and (my father's) career," he said. "This means so much to me."
During the tour, Bruce Grant recognized several artifacts, including early drawings of the AFCS shield, which he said he remembered his father spending a great deal of time perfecting.
The visit also provided a unique opportunity to three of General Grant's grandchildren who, while they remembered and spent time with their grandfather, never fully understood the scope of how significant his Air Force contributions were.
"(The visit) helped me understand his place in Air Force history," said Andrew Grant, one of the general's grandchildren. "It helped give me a broad understanding of his role, what he did, and helped situate the facts that I do know about him into a larger narrative."
In addition to a tour of the building, the group also met with Col. Curt Piontkowsky, the AFNIC commander, to learn about AFNIC and how the Air Force communications and information mission has evolved into today's cyber mission.
"It's tremendous to see that (AFNIC) is doing what it's doing," Bruce Grant said. "Having a little background in this business of computers and communications myself ... it's reassuring to know that you do what you do, and we're so proud."
Piontkowsky's mission briefing led Bruse Grant particularly to note AFNIC's commitment to taking care of its people. He said he felt it was his father's most important legacy, too.
"He was always concerned about and helping others," he said. "This is so much more than wires and computers; it's about people."
"It's in our legacy to take care of our people," Piontkowsky said. "General Grant helped teach us that, which is part of the reason we memorialize him today."
