Jack Griffin
| Date and Place of Birth: | August 13, 1913 Wichita, KS |
| Date and Place of Death: | February 19, 1945 Iwo Jima |
| Baseball Experience: | College |
| Position: | Unknown |
| Rank: | Second Lieutenant |
| Military Unit: | 4th Combat Engineer Battalion, 4th Marine Division USMC |
| Area Served: | Pacific Theater of Operations |
Second Lieutenant Jack J Griffin, who starred in football,
baseball and basketball at the University of Kansas, was killed in
action on Iwo Jima.
Fresno Bee March 17, 1945
John J. "Jack" Griffin, Jr., was born in Wichita, Kansas on August
13, 1913. His family moved to Iola, Kansas when he was 4 years old and
his love of sports was passed on to him by his father. Jack Griffin,
Sr., was an ardent sports fan and promoted amateur sports events of all
types in the local area. His first love was baseball and he had much to
do with the creation of several twilight leagues and softball clubs in
Iola.
Jack Jr., attended Iola High School where the Iola Register remembered
him as "one of the most popular members of his class." He was an
outstanding athlete in high school and graduated in 1930, and attending
Iola Junior College in 1931. Griffin attended the University of New
Mexico in 1932/33 and then transferred to the University of Kansas in
1934 where he excelled in baseball, football and basketball. He withdrew
from Kansas in the Spring of 1937 and completed his degree at the
University of Arizona's school of engineering the following year.
Griffin married the former Jean Reid in June 1938. The had one child,
Margaret Anne, known as Marty.
Griffin went to work for the Denver Customs House before joining the
Marines on October 14, 1943. By the fall of 1944, Griffin was a second
lieutenant and on his way to the Pacific, leaving his wife and their
young daughter, Margaret, at the family home in Emporia, Kansas. In
February 1945, he was preparing for the invasion of Iwo Jima to help
secure the island for use as a base for long-range fighters to escort
bombers on their missions to Japan.
Iwo Jima, 750 miles south of Tokyo, is the middle island of the three
tiny specks of the Volcano Islands. Five miles long with Mount Suribachi
at the southern tip, the island is honeycombed with excoriated volcanic
vents. Hundreds of natural caves communicate with deep sulphur-exuding
tunnels. Steep and broken gulleys cut across the surface, ragged sea
cliffs surround it. Only to the south is there level sand, but it is
fine, shifting, black pumice dust making the beaches like quicksand and
rendering it impossible to dig a fox-hole when in need of cover.
The island was riddled with pillboxes, gun-pits, trenches and mortar
sites and a three-day naval bombardment beginning on February 16 was
intended to rid the island of much of its defense. But despite its
enormity the bombardment had minimal effect.
Second Lieutenant Griffin was killed in action on February 19, 1945. He
was 32 years old. Jack Griffin is buried at the Honolulu Memorial in
Hawaii. His sacrifice is recognized at the University of Kansas, with
his name listed in the Memorial Campanile and his name is included on
the Veteran's Wall at Iola, Kansas.
Jack's widow, Jean, passed away in January 1998. His daughter, Marty, passed away in 2004.
2/Lt. John J. "Jack" Griffin's grave at the Honolulu Memorial in Hawaii
Thanks to Becky Schulte at the University of Kansas, and Judy Thyer at the Iola Public Library for help with this biography.
Date Added July 28, 2012 Updated July 11, 2013
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