In Korea Only 5 Mos.
HOPEDALE - A third telegram from the Defense Department Saturday night informed Mrs. Gertrude Griffin of 11 Cemetery Street that her son, Marine Pfc. Richard John Griffin, 20, died aboard the U.S.S. Haven, a hospital ship, of wounds received in Korea.
This brings the Korean death toll in this area to two men, both of the Marine Corps. The other victim was Pfc. Lester Lavoie of Milford.
Pfc. Griffin had been in Korea less than five months, landing ther from Japan on Jan 28. He took part in the capture of a North Korean spy only several weeks ago, and had been commended by his superiors.
On Feb. 17th the Seventh Marine regiment of the First Marine division, of which the Hopedale youth was a member, received orders to move forward towards the 38th parallel, and that force saw much action from then on.
Griffin enlisted in the Marine Corps on Sept. 19, 1950, and received basic training at Parris Island, S.C. His last trip home was on Christmas of last year.
The victim was a graduate of St. Mary's High School, class of 1947. He was an outstanding all-around athlete at the school. He was captain of the basketball team in his senior year, and was one of the top scorers in the school's history. After graduation he played with several teams, including the Daily News team in the Town Basketball League.
"Dick," as he was known to his many friends, also was a good student. He earned honors in his first and second years. He was also vice president of the Spanish club in his junior year, served on the school yearbook committee and was a finalist in the school oratoricals.
For a year after graduation at St. Mary's he worked for the Draper Corporation, where his mother is still employed. Then he attended Clark University, and a year later went to St. Bonaventure College, where he was a member of the track team, and also participated in other sports.
He enlisted in the Marines while still a sophomore at the New York college in New York.
A week before his reported death in Korea, Mrs. Griffin received a letter from her son stating he was at a rest camp, after 63 days at the front. The Defense Department stated that the youth received "missile wounds in the legs and hips."
Pfc. Griffin was born in Milford and in addition to his mother is also survived by his father, Albert Griffin, two sisters, Shirley and Virginia, both of Hopedale.
This morning in St Mary's Church Rev. William J. Foran, pastor, offered his mass for the repose of the soul of Pfc. Griffin. Milford Daily News, June 18, 1951.
The Griffin Apartments, part of Hopedale Housing Authority's Griffin-Dennett Apartments, were named in honor of Richard Griffin.
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