DOB/DOD:June 4, 1990 (Voluntown, CT) – April 1, 2010; 19 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Unmarried
LOCAL ADDRESS: Congdon Road; Voluntown
ENLISTMENT: 2008
MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY: 0311; Rifleman
UNIT: 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines, (Regimental Combat Team-2), Marine Expeditionary Brigade-A Forward), 2nd Marine Division; Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
FAMILY: Born to Brian C. (1962-2003) and Susan M. (Perry) Griffin Wilding (1960-). Stepfather John P. Wilding (1959-). One sister, Sarah Griffin Catania (1987-). One stepsister, Erin M. Wilding (1992-).
DECORATIONS: Awarded the Purple Heart Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with device, Global War on Terrorism Medal (Service), and the Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.
CIRCUMSTANCES: Died while supporting combat operations in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
Graduated from Griswold High School, Class of 2008
From The Hartford Courant on April 4, 2010
By Mark Spencer
VOLUNTOWN MARINE, 19, KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN
Tyler Owen Griffin, a 19-year-old Marine Lance Corporal from Voluntown, was recently killed in Afghanistan.
Voluntown First Selectman Ronald Millovitsch said he spoke to Griffin’s stepfather, who confirmed that his stepson had been killed. The stepfather told Millovitsch the only thing keeping Griffin’s mother going is that her son was pursuing his dream. “The son had always wanted to be a Marine, and he got to be a Marine,” Millovitsch said. After the death was confirmed, Millovitsch said, he lowered the four public flags in the town of 2,600 to half-staff. “This town will go out of its way to help any way we can,” he said. Gov M. Jodi Rell ordered U.S. and state flags flown at half-staff until Griffin’s burial. Griffin was killed by an improvised explosive device, according to a report in the Norwich Bulletin. Lindsey Grenier, 20, went to school with Griffin from kindergarten at Voluntown Elementary School to Griswold High School, where Griffin played football. “Tyler was an all-around good person,” Grenier said. “He worked hard at everything he did, and all he wanted to do was serve his country. He talked endlessly about it.” Millovitsch said the family had gone to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware but was expected back in the state by today. Details about the funeral were not available, but Millovitsch said he was told it would be held in town.
From The Day (New London, CT) on April 6, 2010
By Megan Bard and Jennifer Grogan | Day Staff Writers
VOLUNTOWN REMEMBERS A GREAT AMERICAN
VOLUNTOWN — By all indications, Tyler Owen Griffin was born to serve in the Marine Corps. When given the artistic freedom during his culinary arts classes at Griswold High School, Griffin’s first inclination was to create a cake shaped like the Corps emblem. As a freshman, instead of asking GHS Principal Mark Frizzell, a 30-year member of the Marine Corps who retired in 2005 as a Chief Warrant Officer 4, for advice on whether to join the Corps, Griffin flat out said he would serve. “He had the mindset even before he joined. There were no second thoughts,” Frizzell said Monday morning. “He didn’t ask me, he told me.” On Thursday, Lance Corporal Griffin, 19, was killed in combat operations in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, according to the Department of Defense. The DOD did not release further details about the deaths of Griffin and another Marine, Sergeant Frank J. World, 25, of Buffalo, New York. Griffin, who graduated from Griswold High in 2008, was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Friends and acquaintances said he had been in Afghanistan for only about 30 days. He wanted to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, according to someone who knew him as a child. “It’s a terrible thing, but this is one kid who wouldn’t have it any other way,” Frizzell said. “He truly believed in the Marine Corps, and as sad and as cold as it sounds, if he had to go at an inopportune time, this is what he wanted to be doing. I know he’s a man, but boy, he’s a kid. A great American.” Monday, teachers and students at Griswold High remembered Griffin as an energetic, enthusiastic, and respectful student and peer whose primary goal in life was to be a Marine. At the end of the morning announcements Monday, the school held a moment of silence that was broken by Frizzell’s voice at the end. “Semper Fidelis,” he said. In Voluntown, there is a sense of sadness. A resident was seen weeping in front of one of the American flags that now hangs at half-staff. A sign at the corner of Routes 138 and 165 and Beachdale Avenue read “Tyler Owen Griffin A Voluntown Hero.” Monday evening, Wendy Vachon, the youth leader of the Voluntown Baptist Church, remembered Griffin as a vivacious young man with an infectious smile, a healthy sense of humor, and always a kind word to share. Griffin was active in the church when he was younger. “He was a beautiful young man, not only in appearance but on the inside,” said Vachon, who worked as a paraprofessional at the Voluntown Elementary School, which Griffin attended. “I could tell from an early age that he was loyal to his country. “I’m just thankful for the service and life that he gave, but I’m sorry and will miss him greatly,” she said after taking a moment to keep her emotions in check. “I just pray that God will carry that family through this time.” Gov. M. Jodi Rell said Monday afternoon she planned to call Griffin’s family. “My thoughts and prayers and sympathies go out to his family,” Rell said. “It’s easy for us to stand back and say he died doing what he wanted to do and what he loved. That’s of little comfort to his family. But the truth is, he was doing his life’s dream, and that has to count for something.” Griffin’s mother, wearing a Marine Corps sweatshirt, declined to talk to a reporter at the family’s house Monday afternoon. U.S. Representative Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, called Griffin a “hero that every person in Connecticut should pay homage to.” “He stepped up and volunteered to make us safe and free,” Courtney said. Dean Wittwer, a member of the Voluntown Baptist Church and its spokesman, said the church is prepared to support the family and that a memorial service would be scheduled for Griffin as soon as the family contacts the congregation.
From The Hartford Courant on April 15, 2010
Lance Corporal Griffin is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, 1 Memorial Avenue, Arlington, Virginia; Section 60, Site 9153.
