Board/Staff Profiles

Col Grant Sparks, USMC (Ret)

Colonel Grant Sparks, USMC (Ret), was born in Denver, Colorado in 1947, his Dad having served 7 years in the US Navy during WWII. The family then moved within 2 years to a small Western Nebraska town, Scottsbluff. He enjoyed Western Nebraska with assorted hunting and fishing and a rich history of the West, exploring the Oregon and Mormon Trails and a waypoint for the Pony Express, all in his hometown. 

He was educated at the University of Nebraska, Kearney, formerly known as Kearney State College. He joined the Marine Corps in the winter of 1970, completed OCS and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the winter of 1971. He completed The Basic School in fall of 1971 and then headed for Pensacola, Florida for flight training. Flight school lasted about 6 months when he decided to change his MOS. He departed Pensacola and went to the Engineers Officers Course, Camp Lejeune, graduating in the fall of 1972. His first assignment was with Second Marine Division, Second Shore Party Battalion, deploying twice during the short 2 year tour. He was then reassigned to the USS Dubuque LPD-8, as Combat Cargo Officer. Shortly after reporting aboard, he  participated in the evacuation of Viet Nam in the spring of 1975. This was the early start of his Marine Corps career which eventually lead to 8 major deployments including Desert Shield/Storm where he was the 2nd Supply Battalion Commander.  Additionally he was the J-4 for migrant operations in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and then G-4 of II MEF.

His final assignment was as the J-4 of the Standing Joint Task Force. He retired in the winter of 1997 and went to work for the Warfighting Lab in Quantico, Va. That job lasted 2 years after which, he took over the Public Works Department for the City of Jacksonville N.C. for 11 plus years. He retired completely in 2012 and spent his leisure hours fishing the entire east coast, with concentrations in eastern Carolina Waters.

He has been a board member at Carolina Museum of the Marine since 2010. Serving in various billets, he currently is a member of the Executive Board.