Soldier, Farmer, Innovator

Former news anchor Tom Brokaw dubbed them “the greatest generation,” World War II heroes who came home to parades, the G.I. Bill and a grateful nation. In 2016, the 75^th anniversary of the start of U.S. involvement in WWII is commemorated.

Ben Grant, who died in 2014, epitomized that heroism and can-do attitude. An Oklahoma native who farmed in Pasco, Wash., Grant was commissioned in the Second Infantry Division in 1941. Soon after, Pearl Harbor was attacked. He flew 56 combat missions in North Africa and Italy, the last six of which he took on after he’d received papers to go home.

Grant with wife Alma set out to farm in 1946, ending up where the Grand Cooley Dam had made desert land arable with irrigation. He became one of the largest custom cutter operators in the Pacific Northwest. The Massey Ferguson combine engineers were on a first-name basis with Grant, frequently testing in his fields. All together, Grant held 14 patents, 7 in the U.S. and 7 in Canada.

Bughi praises his friend’s generosity—he gave more than $1 million to Oklahoma State University—and Grant’s accomplishments. “Besides being a World War II hero, you’d have to go a long way to find someone who had more to do with Massey combines,” Bughi says.

To see the whole story and a photo of Grant’s Massey Ferguson 750 prototype combine, see http://www.myfarmlife.com/farmstead/soldier-farmer-innovator/.