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Remember...Roger Dale Griffith
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| Roger Dale Griffith was born on August 20, 1947, in Elkins, Randolph County, West Virginia. His parents were Lester Franklin Griffith and Ora Etta Watson Griffith. He had an older sister named Maxine Griffith Miller. He attended and graduated from Elkins High School in 1965. Roger was not married and did not have any children. Roger was a Methodist and a member of the Evangelical United Brethren Church. |  |
Elkins was a major lumber center, as well as a railroad center, for the transportation of both coal and lumber. Due to its beautiful streams and forests, Elkins is also a great place for outdoor activities. For example, the western terminus of the Allegheny Highlands Trail is in Elkins. There is also a festival called the Mountain State Forest Festival, held annually. Other festivals in Elkins include the Augusta Heritage Festival, a music and heritage festival, and the Randolph County International Ramp Cook-off and Festival. (Donald L. Rice, "Elkins," e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia, 30 May 2013, accessed 22 February 2022, https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/2189.)
During the 1950s when Roger was growing up, West Virginia's coal mining industry changed greatly. Between the switch from people to machines and the decline of coal use in general, there was a decrease in labor demand and many Randolph residents migrated out of the state. Agriculture was difficult due to the rugged land and limited space for farming. For these reasons, West Virginia was behind in economic development as compared to other states.
The Vietnam War was one of the longest wars in U.S. history. It lasted from November 1, 1955, to April 30, 1975—twenty years later. The war was fought between communist North Vietnamese and anti-communist South Vietnamese. The U.S. entered in support of the South and to put an end to the spread of communism. After the deaths of Ngo Dinh Diem (president of the Government of the Republic of Vietnam) and his brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson gave more military and economic support. Then in August of 1964, two U.S. destroyers were attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin. Johnson ordered the bombing of North Vietnam military targets in retaliation. U.S. planes began regular bombing raids by the codename Operation Rolling Thunder. In March of 1965, President Johnson sent U.S. combat forces into battle. Many Americans were concerned about the escalation. (For West Virginia's role in the war, see Jeffrey M. Leatherwood, "Vietnam War," e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia, 5 November 2010, accessed 22 February 2022, https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/869.)
In the late 1960s, the people of the United States had been protesting the war. Multiple anti-war movements had started, many of which were on college campuses and among the younger generations. Casualties due to the war were high and rising, and the U.S. commanders ordered for new troops; the draft sent around 40,000 men every month. This influx of new young men into the war made the anti-war movements grow. On October 21, 1967, around 100,000 protesters gathered at the Lincoln Memorial, and later the same night some 30,000 of them marched at the Pentagon. ("Vietnam War Protests: The Beginnings of a Movement," History.com, 22 February 2010, last updated 21 October 2020, accessed 22 February 2022, https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/vietnam-war-protests.)
Roger Dale Griffith, at 19 years old, was drafted into the U.S. Army through the Selective Service as an 11B-Light Infantry Weapons soldier; his service number was 51906740. After his basic and infantry training, he was sent to Vietnam and began his tour on July 11, 1967. Specialist 4 (SP4) Griffith was assigned to A Company, 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division.
The 25th Infantry Division was activated on October 1, 1941, at Schofield Barracks, Territory of Hawaii, due to the threat of war in 1940; it saw its first combat only two months later on December 7, 1941. The 25th Infantry Division and is sister division, the 24th Infantry Division, were the first to see combat in WWII. The Division went on to take part in the Korean War and the Cold War before the Vietnam War. Then from 1966-1967, the 25th Division was the largest Division in Vietnam, with four brigades under its command. These units participated in Operation Attleboro in War Zone C East of Tay Ninh City from September through November in 1966. From 1966-1970, the Division fought the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong North and West of Saigon. During the 1968 Tet Offensive, the 25th Infantry Division stopped the Viet Cong attempts to seize Tan Son Nhut Airfield and participated in the defense of Saigon. ("A Brief History of the 25th Infantry Division," 25th Infantry Division Association website, accessed 22 February 2022, https://www.25thida.org/division/.)
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On January 4, 1968, less than six months after SP4 Roger Dale Griffith began his tour, his unit was participating in Operation Yellowstone. His platoon was attacked by a large North Vietnamese Army force while on combat patrol in Tay Ninh Province, South Vietnam, near the Cambodian border. SP4 Roger Dale Griffith died outright as a result of hostile small arms fire. His body was recovered and returned to the U.S., where he was laid to rest at Mountain State Memorial Gardens in Gilman, Randolph County, West Virginia, with full military honors. |
SP4 Roger D. Griffith will always be remembered for his ultimate sacrifice as his name is inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., on Panel 33E, Line 36. He is also remembered and honored at the West Virginia Veterans Memorial located in Charleston, West Virginia.
Commendations earned by SP4 Griffith during his service include the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Marksmanship Badge, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Army Presidential Unit Citation, the Vietnam Gallantry Cross, and the Army Good Conduct Medal. ("Roger Dale Griffith," HonorStates.org, accessed 22 February 2022, https://www.honorstates.org/index.php?id=275636.)
| In his hometown, an overpass across Laurel Mountain Road was dedicated to Roger Dale Griffith by Delegate Bill Hartman and Roger Ware of the Marine Corps League. Ware spent 32 years in the military and has honored a total of 17 military veterans from Randolph County, including SP4 Griffith, by requesting the naming of local roads and bridges after them. The West Virginia Legislature introduced House Concurrent Resolution No. 23 on February 26, 2020, which was then passed and signed on March 3 that same year. The resolution directed the West Virginia Department of Highways to rename the Laurel Mountain Road Bridges, carrying U.S. 48 over County Route 11 and U.S. 219 in Randolph County, as the "U. S. Army SPC Roger Dale Griffith Memorial Bridge." A miniature sign reading the name of the bridge, "U.S. Army SPC Roger Dale Griffith Memorial Bridge," was presented to Griffith's family during the ceremony on Saturday, August 15, 2020. (Edgar Kelley, "Dedications Honor Fallen Veterans," Elkins Inter-Mountain, 17 August 2020, accessed 22 February 2022, https://www.theintermountain.com/news/local-news/2020/08/dedications-honor-fallen-veterans/.) |  |
Writing in the "Remembrances" section of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund's Wall of Faces, Roger's cousin, Sandy Watson, had this to say about him: "I was very little when you passed away, but I remember when you came home for Christmas in 1967. You were so tall and handsome in your uniform. I remember being shy and hiding behind my dad and mom's pant legs when you talked to me. You were so sweet. None of us knew that when you went back from leave that you would be gone by Jan. 4th of 1968. You will never be forgotten." ("Roger D. Griffith," 26 May 2020, accessed 22 February 2022, https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/20098/ROGER-D-GRIFFITH/.)
Article prepared by Abbi Reynolds, George Washington High School JROTC
February 2022
West Virginia Archives and History welcomes any additional information that can be provided about these veterans, including photographs, family names, letters and other relevant personal history.
