Daniel T. Griffin - December 7th, 1941

December 7th, 1941

On the morning of December 7th, 1941, Daniel was standing routine watch at Kaneohe Naval Air Station. His PBY was at the ready; sitting in the bay with two of the four crew members already on board. When Daniel saw the Japanese planes approaching the base, he realized that they were not from the United States military. Daniel called out to the crew members on board the plane to start the engines as he began to swim out to the PBY. Daniel settled into the pilot's seat and began to taxi the plane for takeoff. Daniel’s PBY was hit by Japanese gunfire just as he became airborne. It caught fire and sank in Kaneohe Bay where, according to the University of Hawaii and East Carolina University, it still rests today. Daniel was badly burned but managed to escape the plane and attempt to swim back to shore. The Japanese planes continued strafing the Kaneohe Bay waters with machine gunfire. 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. It is believed that Daniel was the first serviceman to die at Kaneohe Bay that day.

Daniel's wife, Lucille, having seen his plane taxiing down the bay and later on fire, didn’t know if her husband had survived. On December 12th, the Kaneohe police called the base to report that a body had washed ashore. Daniel T. Griffin was identified and pronounced dead. Daniel was buried in a temporary grave on the north shore of Kaneohe Island with several other servicemen who perished during the attack. His body was later exhumed and reinterred at a cemetery in Colorado Springs, CO.

His commission to ensign arrived at the base two weeks after his death.

Daniel's wife Lucille later received a Letter of Citation from Admiral Chester Nimitz citing the bravery of Daniel’s actions with utter disregard for his personal welfare.