Lt. Col. Grady Eugene Oxford

Grady Eugene Oxford
Grady Eugene Oxford was commissioned a 2nd Lt in the Infantry USAR from SR ROTC Mercer University, Macon, Georgia. He served in the US Army from 1954 to 1975 retiring as a Lt. Col.
After the basic infantry course at Ft Benning, Ga, he completed Army Primary flight training at Edward Gary AFB, San Marcos, TX. He then completed the Army Aviation & Tactics course at Ft. Rucker, Al to indoctrinate proven leaders into Army Aviation & Tactics. He also completed the 3rd US Army Instrument & Flight Training course at Bush Field, Augusta, Ga.
He then volunteered for Korea where he served as a fixed wing aviator performing reconnaissance in the 7th Infantry Division. Korea was the choice of many career minded officers because it was the closest thing the Army offered to a combat environment.
Upon his return to the states, as is often the case when an officer does well, Grady was rewarded with helicopter school at Camp Wolters, Weatherford, Tx. Now his flying skills were not limited to just fixed wing aircraft, he can now fly helicopters which was to become the future of Army Aviation.
From there he was assigned as a helicopter pilot to the 101st Airborne Division in the Otter and other planes at Ft. Campbell, Ky. Here he served in many aviation positions in support of divisional units, rotary and fixed wing, thus developing his Army Aviation Career.
Sometime after this Grady's next assignment was again a much coveted one, he was appointed Operations Officer Troop D, 2nd Recon Squadron, 15th Cavalry, near the famous city of Nuremburg, Germany. The 15th Cavalry mission was critical. Grady had to conduct daily helicopter flights along the border between East & West Germany, in good and bad weather. The danger was that in inclement weather (Fog and rain) you had to be sure of your position every second. A miscue involving a border crossing could result in an International incident. Later on in his tour he was sent to Southern Germany and supported the Green Berets of the 20th Special Forces at Bad Tolz, Germany. He was flying Special Forces in military exercise that provided the environmental training needed to be successful in combat in the mountainous areas of the European theater.
After Germany he was assigned to Ft. Benning, Ga and was checked out in the Army's newest and best aircraft, the CV-2B Caribou. Grady was drafted to fly OH-13's at Ft. Belvoir, Va, to participate in a helicopter demonstration. At the end of the mission the CO kept all the "borrowed" pilots instead of releasing them back to the old units. Grady was drafted into the CH-47 Chinook program shortly thereafter, to the 1st Cavalry. It was during Grady's transition to the Chinook, he was involved in a freak accident in the Chinook, both engines failed. Grady was admitted to Martin Army Hospital at Ft. Benning, Ga with spinal contusions. Fourteen days later he was given orders to Viet Nam.
Grady distinguished himself by participating in sustained aerial flight in support of combat ground forces in the Rep of Viet Nam during this time he actually participated in more than 300 aerial missions over hostile territory in support of counterinsurgency operations. Shortly thereafter he was drafted into the 1st Cavalry. The 1st Cavalry is one of the most famous and decorated combat divisions of the US Army. During the Viet Nam Conflict it employed air assault tactics and techniques to gain combat advantage over the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces, using helicopters to carry troops. Captain Oxford distinguished himself as the advanced party officer in the division's first major encounter at Pleiku. In Nov 1965 he was responsible for coordinating supply missions during the Ira Drang Valley Campaign. For which the Division was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation.
Grady then served the remainder of his career in the 147th. This became critical because it allowed the 1 units, the 1st Cav and 147th to swap pilots to make rotations back to the states more effective, as the Viet Nam tour of duty was limited to one year. Grady served on an accident board, "The Guns-A-Go-Go- Team involving a Chinook armed with a 50 caliber machine gun that tried to taxi past a parked Chinook and basically cut it in half. From there he was assigned back to Ft. Benning, Ga where he served for 3 yrs in the 177th Chinook Company, following his tour at Benning, he was sent back to Korea where he served as Non Appropriations Funds Officer.
After Grady made LT. Col, the subsequent drawdown of the Army in particular Army Aviation in Viet Nam, Grady's career changed direction, the Army recognized his unique talents and assigned him as Deputy Comptroller, he then advanced to Comptroller at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. There Grady finished his Army Career. He acquired a Bachelor of Individual Studies at New Mexico State University, in Las Cruces, NM
Medals: Armed Forces Reserve Medal (W/Device), Valorous Unit Award, Presidential Unit Citation, Air Medal (1-10 OLC), Meritorious Unit Citation, Meritorious Service Medal (2nd OLC), Meritorious Service Medal (3rd OLC), Republic of Viet Nam Cross of Gallantry Unit Citation, Viet Nam Defensive Campaign, Viet Nam Counteroffensive, Viet Nam Counteroffensive Phase II, Korean Defense Service Medal.
He was a member of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America.
He was Circulation Manager for the local newspaper, The Las Cruces Bulletin.
He was a Good Old Georgia Boy who loved "Boiled Peanuts", Las Vegas, Nv and flying, and is honored to be placed on The Wall of Honor at the Smithsonian. He was a patriotic supporter of God and his great nation in uniform and a veteran. His contributions to aviation and particularly Army Aviation are seen in the evolution of the helicopter and its continued development for both civil peace time emergencies and combat operations. Grady will always be a soldier and an aviator, he's flying in Heaven with our son Kevin Glen Boyd Oxford.