Donald Haines Gransback

West Point, 1955

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Stephen J. Gransback on August 5, 2015:

Don Gransback's true and only calling was soldiering. He achieved his dream to attend West Point and soldiered as an United States Army officer for more than thirty years. He met the love of his life in his hometown of Philadelphia, married her in the West Point Cadet Chapel and later baptized their three sons there. As a "trained killer" he wore his Combat Infantryman's Badge with pride, but he was a sentimental romantic at heart nonetheless. Dad inscribed our Mom's wedding ring with the Greek refrain Zoe mou sas agapo / "My life, I love you!" taken from Lord Byron's poem "Maid of Athens, Ere We Part." He loved people, hated crowds and always over tipped. With family and friends, he enjoyed telling and retelling stories. Over the years his old soldier stories from Ranger School, Germany, and Vietnam lost and gained details as his hearing and short term memory faded. The Lord was kind and merciful to our Dad when he called him home. Dad didn't linger long or suffer much, and the Tripler hospital staff was a captured audience for a few last stories. He died with three generations of loving family members with him in Honolulu. We love you Dad - Steve, Greg and Deryck.

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