USAFA Class Histories

Upon graduating from Days Creek High School, Grady received an appointment to the United States Air Force Academy. He graduated in 1963 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and started his military career.

During navigator training in Waco, Texas, he met his first wife, Paula Beth Johnson Gaulke, while she was attending Baylor University. They married on Nov. 27, 1964, in Odessa. Paula died on Jan. 29, 1999.

Grady served in the Vietnam War during 1966 to 1974, flying 212 combat missions in the KC-135 and the F-4 aircraft.

He enjoyed a brief civilian stint at Texas Instruments in Dallas during the early 1970s before volunteering to return to active duty. On his return, Grady was stationed in Thailand, having to leave his family behind in Midland, while he again flew in the Vietnam War.

The military life took them many places over 20 years. Following the war, he and the family were stationed in West Germany, where they enjoyed touring Europe, experiencing many cultures, and international holidays.

Another favorite tour of duty was Alaska. Grady always enjoyed the outdoors, especially family fishing, skiing, and viewing the visiting moose in the front yard. When he was working during this time, he often sat alert in a fighter jet pointing across the Bering Strait towards the Soviet Union.

His final tour was at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., as an Air Space Manager. Grady retired from the Air Force in 1985.

In 1988, the family moved to San Antonio and later to La Vernia in 1990.

Grady enjoyed teaching at Floresville High School and then La Vernia High School for several years. He especially relished making science real to his students and teaching topics like engineering, drafting, physics, and calculus.