Some people walk into history, Capt. Grant flew

His time in Saudi Arabia had a profound effect on him. When he first arrived just after the war, the Kingdom was staggeringly different from today. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had given King Abdul Aziz a DC3 airplane and Grant, who had flown C-54s for the Air Transport Command in Egypt, was told to take it from Cairo to Riyadh.
He recalled that there was no special preparation for the aircraft, other than it had the interior refitted in what he described as “luxury corporate style.”
On their arrival at the dirt strip in Riyadh, there was no official reception. The crew was given quarters in the palace and there they lived. “I stayed with the airplane for two years, left at the beginning of 1948,” he said. “We ferried the royal family wherever they wanted to go. It was fun.” He often spoke of the times when King Abdul Aziz used to sit in the co-pilot’s seat. For the tall man to squeeze in, he had to put his very large hand on Joe’s shoulder to lower himself into the cramped position. “I am not a very big guy and his weight used to push me down into my seat. But he sat there with a big smile as if he were perfectly happy just to be there or to take over.”
Born in Stockton, California. on March 24, 1908, Grant left home at 19 to make his way in life taking whatever jobs he could find. He was smitten by the thought of flying when he worked as a mechanic’s assistant servicing Stutz Bearcats — a very expensive sports car at the time. The owner of the business had an airplane that kindled his interest.
Later he and his younger brother Roy saved their cash to buy a plane. “We even went without socks in our shoes  and bought a Curtis Wright plane.” But they could not fly it. After only 25 flying hours, they launched a new career as barnstormers in 1929, charging two dollars a ride. “We were lucky,” Grant later said. “There was no regulatory body to stop us killing ourselves. One of us would talk people into flying with us for $5, the other would take them up in the plane and try to scare them half to death with crazy stunts!”
Joe was convinced that King Abdul Aziz saw the potential for mass air transport in the DC3. “You got to hand it to the old king, he was a visionary,” he said. “It takes visionaries to move people forward. The ones that follow with guts and muscle do it. But this man had both; he was a doer.” He recalled how once TWA had become involved in the structuring of the fledgling Saudi Arabian Airlines, he had trouble getting across to the king’s sons the importance of scheduling in an airline.
“Abdul Aziz took two of his sons and me and put us in a room and said, ‘stay in there until you get it solved.’ We did; he knew how to get things done.”
After two years in the Kingdom, Joe became a TWA pilot, where he spent 35 years. While in Saudi Arabia, Grant discovered a love for puzzle rings, which led to an appreciation for gemstones and jewelry. After settling in Stamford 60 years ago, Joe and his wife Marga — who died two years ago — founded a jewelry store, called Jose’ Grant. But his love of flight endured. In 2009, at the age of 101, Grant flew for the last time at the Oshkosh Air Show, where he was awarded a lifetime achievement award for his service to aviation.