It was a proud sergeant who snappily saluted and then pinned the silver wings of an Army Air Forces pilot on his son, Second Lieut. George B. Grider, 20, following the commissioning exercises recently at the AAF Training Command's Eagle Pass Army Field, Texas.

Sgt. James E. Grider, veteran of 17 years in the Army, was stationed close to home for many years until several days ago when he was transferred to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.  Prior to his transfer, Sgt. Grider was drill instructor for the R.O.T.C. unit at Iowa State college and lived with his family in Ames.

The soldier father, who welcomed the first Army officer into the family fold at the advanced pilot school near Eagle Pass, has three other sons, Aviation Cadet Howard G. Grider, 18, who is beginning his flight training at the Aviation Cadet center in San Antonio; James, Jr., 10; and Morris LaVerne, 11.

After recovering from his happy reunion with his oldest son, Sergeant Grider said, "Now I'm ready to start sweating out my next furlough, when I expect to pin wings on my second son."