History

Good Morning,

​

My name is Dave Griffin and I am here to share the story of one of the brave men who made the ultimate sacrifice for his country on December 7, 1941, my grandfather Daniel T. Griffin. My dad, Donald, and stepmom, Donelle Griffin, have provided the details of this speech.

 

Let us turn back the hands of time on the Mokapu Peninsula on which this base sits and has been inhabited since the 13th century. The Hawaiian Royalty often spent their summers here enjoying the cool breezes that the windward side of the island provided. Intelligence specialists also liked the isolated and strategic location; in 1939 the U.S. Government purchased 464 acres and construction of the air station began.

 

By March 1941, when my grandfather arrived with Patrol Squadron Twelve at the base, the air station was nearly completed. Hangers and ramps were in place for the PBY-5 airplanes along with barracks for unmarried servicemen. The base also provided housing for the servicemen with families, with some of the housing coming from what remained of the royalty's summer houses. I am told that my grandparents, father, and aunt lived in one of these houses near the bay.

 

My grandfather, Daniel T. Griffin, was  one of the 18 men who gave their lives at Kaneohe Naval Air Station seventy years ago today. Because Kaneohe Naval Air Base was the first to be attacked on December 7, Daniel's father, my great-grandfather, believed until his dying day that his son was the first to die in that surprise attack. Like all those men and others who have lost their lives in the service of our country, he had a story both before and after that day.

 

Daniel T. Griffin was born on March 25, 1911, in Allendale, Illinois to the Reverend Pearl D. Griffin and his wife Pernia. His father was what was known as a travelingminister and he moved from small town to small town until his family settled in Colorado Springs. Daniel enjoyed the hunting and fishing that the area provided. During his last several years of school, he was also employed with the Gazette & Telegraph Co. in Colorado Springs. When he was 19 years old, Daniel decided to enlist in the US Navy and see the world. He enlisted on October 6, 1930, completed his basic training at the Naval Training Station in San Diego, CA, and then served aboard the USS California and the USS Tennessee before finding his true love while aboard the USS Saratoga. He wanted to become a pilot. To realize this dream, he began ground training at Naval Air Station Pensacola in 1936, and in 1937 he reported to flight school, graduating in February 1938 as an AMM2C "NAP" Naval Aviation Pilot. Shortly after receiving his PBY pilot's license, Daniel was transferred to Pearl Harbor and served with PBY Patrol Squadron 8, then later with Patrol Squadron 24 at Ford Island. When his plane, along with other planes and crews from Squadron 24, was transferred to Kaneohe Bay in March of 1941, that Patrol Squadron was re-designated as VP-12.

 

By this time, Daniel had decided to make Naval Aviation his career. He re-enlisted in October of 1941 and found that he was considered somewhat of an old man, being 30 years old in this young man's service. He was married to my grandmother, Lucille, and together they were raising two  beautiful children on Oahu: Danelle 7 and Donald, my father, 1. There was housing for the men on base but very little in the way of entertainment: just a small movie theatre and a bowling alley. Nevertheless, Daniel and his family found connections during their time on the base, often inviting young men over for Sunday dinner, to share with them a little of the family life that they were missing so far from home. Our family has had the privilege to meet one of those young men, Stanton Caudle. Stanton has  shared with us that he had been to the Griffin house for dinner a few weeks before the attack. He remembers my grandfather as a very likable, friendly fellow who was thin in build and soft-spoken. He remembers bouncing Daniel's baby boy, my father Donald, on his knee. My grandfather's housing on base was located so close to the water, that you could see his plane moored in the bay from the house.

 

On the morning of December 7, Daniel was standing watch; his PBY was at the ready in the bay with two of the four crew members on board. When he saw the enemy planes approaching the base, he realized that they were not ours. Daniel called out to the crew members on board to start the engines. He swam to the plane, and like many others that day, acted out of instinct or training, as he tried to take his plane out of harm's way so that it could be used to locate the enemy at a later date.

 

His wife, Lucille, upon hearing the bombs, placed her infant son Donald in a storage area just inside the house, where she hoped he would be safe. She ran to retrieve her daughter Danell who was playing outside. Lucille watched in terror as Daniel's plane taxied down the bay and turned to head into the wind. Moments later, she saw smoke and fire everywhere. A bomb had hit near the Griffin house and when she retrieved little Donald from storage, he had a small amount of blood coming from his ears from the concussion caused by the bomb hitting so close to his shelter. He also sustained damage to his optic nerve, which required three eye surgeries in Donald's childhood.

Daniel's PBY was hit as he tried to become airborne; it caught fire and settled into the bay, where, according to the University of Hawaii, it still sits today. He was badly burned but managed to escape the plane and attempted to swim to shore. The enemy was strafing the water with machine gun fire. Daniel sustained a bullet wound to the head which entered on the right side behind his ear and exited on the left side of his face, killing him instantly.

Meanwhile, his wife and children were anxiously awaiting word about his condition.

 

Lucille had seen his plane taxiing down the bay and later on fire but didn't know if her husband had survived. On December 12, five days later, the Kaneohe police called the base to report that a body had washed ashore, and Daniel T. Griffin was identified. His commission to ensign arrived at the base two weeks after his death. After the burial, his wife and children moved back to the mainland. Lucille later received a Letter of Citation from Admiral Nimitz citing the bravery of Daniel's actions with utter disregard for his  personal welfare.

 

Like 15 others that were killed that day, a ship was named after him. On February 5, 1943, Lucille had the honor of christening the USS Daniel T. Griffin (DE-54). The Daniel T. Griffin survived three kamikaze attacks during the war and many battles. It stayed in the fleet until 1966 when it was purchased by the Chilean government; it was later decommissioned in 1994 but was used one last time as a training target and sunk. It now rests, as is fitting for an old warship, in the waters off Talcahuano, Chile.

 

In 1946 Lucille married another navy man and as luck would have it, their first duty station was Kaneohe Bay. Daniel and Lucille's daughter, Danell, served in the Navy for 4 years and now resides in Florence, Oregon. Their son, Donald, my dad, served in the Navy for 20 years and retired as a Chief Aviation Machinist Mate. He currently lives in San Diego. Daniel's son, Donald, along with 20 proud members of our family, are present today to honor Daniel T. Griffin and the 17 others who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country that day. Let us never forget these brave warriors.

 

They gave their today, for our tomorrow.

 

I would like to thank the Commanding Officer, Col Brian Annichiarico, the Protocol Officer, Maggie Gaukler, and the honor guard for their service to our country and for allowing me the opportunity to share my grandfather's story with you today.

 

Thank you.