Here's an image of the badges.
I know he was a pilot of some sort and was stationed at an airbase in southern California, if it helps. I've been able to find what a couple of these are called, but I don't really know what they are awarded for. Thank you to anyone who can help me!
This set of badges contains awards from three different services and has nothing to indicate a career as an aviator. The rank in the upper right and left corners is from the US Army and is of a specialist (E-4) which would be an enlisted soldier. Enlisted do not fly in the Army. the branch insignia is mixed as well. The eagle with the sabers is officer insignia from the quartermaster branch, while the bottom left is enlisted infantry branch insignia. The circular US is also an enlisted infantry branch insignia from the Army. The regimental crest is the 29th infantry regiment which is part of the US infantry school at Ft Benning, Georgia which would also imply enlisted infantry.
The ribbons are a hodge-podge. The bottom row from left to right is SW Asia Service medal, with 2 campaign stars that means deployment to the Middle East twice in the period from 1990-1995, the middle one is tough to ID but may be a USCG commandant's letter of commendation, and the right one is a Kuwaiti Liberation Medal from Saudi Arabia for service in Desert Storm. The top full row is a Navy Unit Commendation, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, and National Defense Service Medal. The third row is a Navy and Marine Corps Combat Action Ribbon. The top ribbon with the gold outline is an Army or Air Force Presidential Unit Citation.
At the very least this would be an unusual collection of awards for an individual to have, and with nothing supporting the claims of being an aviator would seem to be a collection of things your grandfather found interesting rather than something he actually earned. I would recommend requesting your grandfather's records through the National Archives or the Army Center for Military History to get more information.
Hello there! As your question is related to looking for identification/information regarding military personnel, our Guide on Military Identification may be of use to you. It provides a number of different resources, including how to request service records from a number of national agencies around the world, as well as graphical aids to assist in deciphering rank, unit, and other forms of badges or insignia. While the users here may still be able to lend you more assistance, hopefully this will provide a good place to start!