Okla Gatewood "Reddy" Grubbs was a 1941 graduate of the University of North Carolina and a U. S. Navy fighter pilot during World War II. Reddy trained on a Grumman Wildcat and was assigned to the USS Ticonderoga. He was on that ship when they set sail for Japan in May 1945.

      On 2 September 1945 he led fighter cover against possible kamikaze attacks on the USS Missouri during the surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay, Japan. Reddy flew approximately 100 missions during the war, receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross and several Air Medals.

In a 1946 letter to Dean House he said:
"Naturally my most proud possession was that 'I got back alive' medal.