|
Diane Griffith
Mechanicsville, Iowa
Staff Sergeant Donald Griffith, Jr., 29, left, always knew he wanted to be a soldier. From the time that he was a kid, his mother Diane Griffith said, he would devise Army games and invite the neighborhood kids over to play. “Once he joined the Army, he would say to me, ‘If I can keep one terrorist out of America, then I have to do that to keep my family safe,’” says Diane.
When he was ambushed on March 11, 2005, Donald lived up to those words when he shot up flares as he was being gunned down. This final act of bravery saved his entire unit from certain death, by warning them that the enemy was at hand. Posthumously, Donald received the Global War on Terrorism medal, a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. He also received numerous other accolades throughout his nine years of service to the military. |
 |
News
- A deep rumble signaled the beginning of the funeral service for Army Staff Sgt. Donald Griffith Jr.
To honor the man who loved motorcycles, two men riding Harley-Davidsons roared down a ramp into the Mechanicsville Elementary School gymnasium and parked the bikes to flank Griffith's flag-draped casket.
Griffith, 29, of Mechanicsville, died March 11 in Tal Afar, Iraq. Army officials and family members said he was trying to protect men in his unit when he was killed by a suicide bomber. "He's probably on a road trip through heaven on his motorcycle," the Rev. Linda Stransky said during the service. Des Moines (Ia.) Register, 3/22/05
- Amanda Weber said her brother's captain called the family and said her brother "was the first person out all the time, and the last person back. He was the bravest soldier he ever met.... His biggest focus was he wanted to keep it over there, keep the war over there to keep all of his family and his home safe," she said." Associated Press, 3/14/05
|
