The Man Who Helped Launch Kingdom’s National Carrier
Michael Saba, sabamps@aol.com

Every so often, we all need our batteries recharged. Today a conversation with a new friend did just that for me. In February of 1945, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt met King Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia aboard the USS Quincy in the Suez Canal of Egypt. At this historic meeting, these leaders of their respective nations, forged a relationship that would define US-Saudi relations until today. At the conclusion of the meeting they presented each other with gifts. President Roosevelt gave the king a wheelchair that he had on board the Quincy, and promised to deliver to the king a brand new state-of-the-art DC3 airplane.

That plane was flown into Saudi Arabia later in 1945. Today I spoke with Joseph Grant, the pilot who flew the DC3 into Saudi Arabia and delivered it to King Abdul Aziz. Grant is 98 years old and his energy and enthusiasm about Saudi Arabia and American relations with Saudi Arabia really rang my bell. “You know, one of these days I’m gonna have to go and I’m not gonna like it. I’ve got some things to do before I leave,” he told me.

Michael Saba is Executive Director of the Friends of Saudi Arabia, a group dedicated to increasing understanding between the US and Saudi Arabia (They maintain a somewhat inactive website at FSAUS.org). He’s been working to find the original DC3 airplane that was the first in the Saudi fleet and get it back to Saudi Arabia. This article is part of his effort to personalize the relationship.