Honoring Franklin’s World War I Hero Saturday at 9 AM

Local
veterans, especially members of the Franklin American Legion post,
named in his honor, are pulling out all the stops on Saturday at
9 AM
with an extra special ceremony honoring Captain Eddie Grant on the
day he was killed in action during World War I.  Similar ceremonies have been scheduled throughout the year to honor other veterans killed in the line of duty.

Grant
was born on May 21, 1883, in Franklin and graduated from Franklin
high school in 1901. Leaning heavily
on
his Wikipedia entry, we know that Grant then attended Dean Academy
(now Dean College) before enrolling at Harvard College (earning him
the nickname "Harvard Eddie"). There, Grant was a member of
the freshman basketball and baseball teams. He played varsity
basketball for the Crimson during his sophomore year in 1903, and was
set to play varsity baseball the following spring until he was
declared ineligible because
he had played in
a professional independent baseball league the previous summer.
He graduated
in 1905 and a then
earned a degree
from
Harvard School of Law in
1909.

As
if that wasn’t impressive enough, he also played intermittently in
the major and minor leagues of baseball starting in 1905. Among
others, he played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds and
the New York Giants before ‘retiring’ to start his own law
practice in Boston.

When
was was declared on Germany in April 1917, Grant
was one of the first men to enlist, foreshadowing
the likes of Pat Tillman, the NFL player who quit his
career to
volunteer for the Army in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

Grant
served
as a captain in the 77th Division during
the
Meuse–Argonne offensive in
which
all of Grant's superior officers were killed or wounded. He
took command of his troops on a four-day search for the "Lost
Battalion." During the search, an exploding shell killed Grant
on October 5, 1918.

Franklin
veterans
will have a remembrance ceremony for Grant at
9am on the Town common, at the Veterans Walkway with
an Honor Guard provided by the post. The public is encouraged to attend to share in this act of remembrance.