U.S. Army veteran Wofford Griffin carries a photo of his brother, U.S. Marine Corps Private First Class Walter Joe Louis Griffin, around his neck as he leaves a Memorial Day ceremony in Hawkins on Monday. Wofford Griffin has paid tribute to his brother, a Hawkins native, for decades. (Jordan Green/Longview News-Journal Photo)

HAWKINS — People in lawn chairs took up most of the space beneath the shade trees, finding respite from the hot afternoon sun during a Memorial Day ceremony Monday at the

Greater Hawkins Veterans Memorial

. But next to U.S. Army veteran Wofford Griffin was a framed, black-and-white photo of his older brother, U.S. Marine Corps Private First Class Walter Joe Louis Griffin. The portrait of the sharp, stern-looking Black soldier — dressed in his Marine Corps dress uniform — was placed on a metal stand. Walter Griffin was killed in action during the Vietnam War in 1969. He posthumously was awarded the Silver Star — the third-highest military commendation for valor in combat — for his “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action” during his final battle. Wofford passes copies of the award letter to those who are interested in the story; he keeps them behind the photo. Like everyone else at the Memorial Day ceremony, Wofford Griffin was there to honor the men and women who died in defense of the nation’s freedoms. It’s the kind of recognition his brother didn’t always receive after he gave up his life for his comrades. “This type of function is outstanding to our heart, knowing that people do still care,” Wofford Griffin said. A ceremony to remember Monday’s Memorial Day ceremony in Hawkins drew a crowd of a few dozen to the grassy field and monument along Beulah Street in the Wood County town. Community members spoke about the sacrifices made by the soldiers who breathed their last while in the line of duty. Keynote speaker Paul Gant, a Vietnam War veteran from Hawkins whose son is serving in the U.S. Special Forces, recounted his family’s lengthy military history dating back to World War I. His son, who has been stationed in Poland near the Ukraine border, is about to reenlist. Gant told the crowd his family’s service, and his own, gives him a deeper appreciation for the people from the area who served the nation — whose names were engraved on the monument behind him. “As we honor the fallen today, let us also remember the families who have borne the weight of their loved ones’ sacrifices,” Gant said. “The legacy of service of sacrifice transcends generations, binding us together in a shared commitment to the ideals of freedom and justice. Let us pledge to uphold the values which so many have fought and died for. Their legacy is our responsibility.” It’s a responsibility Wofford Griffin takes personally. ‘Gallantly gave his life’ Wofford Griffin was 9 years old the day he learned his brother, 20, had been killed in action. “Oh, my Lord,” he said as he recalled the story. “We was at the swimming pool, and we got word to come home. And we saw the government car there.” He paused. “And when we did,” he said, “we knew what happened.” The Griffins grew up in Hawkins. Walter Griffin, born on Feb. 25, 1949, was a machine gunner with Company C in the First Battalion of the Ninth Marines. On June 18, 1969, the private first class and his platoon were on patrol in the Khe Sanh Valley in the Quang Tri Province, one of the most war-torn regions of what was then South Vietnam. The platoon came under heavy fire — including machine guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers — from a large contingent of well-hidden North Vietnamese Army troops. The story is chronicled in Walter Griffin’s Silver Star award letter, signed by H.W. Buse Jr., who was the lieutenant general of the Marine Corps at the time.

Griffin sustained serious wounds early on during the onslaught. But he continued to fire his gun at the enemy, and his work was “devastatingly accurate,” according to the letter. And he did so without having a safe place to hide himself. “Resolutely maintaining his exposed position, he enabled his platoon to reorganize and evacuate the injured to a position of relative safety,” the letter reads. “Steadfastly refusing medical attention, Private First Class Griffin completely disregarded his own painful wounds and continued to fire at the enemy until he was mortally wounded by a hostile hand grenade which impacted near him.” Griffin’s efforts were critical to the defeat of the North Vietnamese forces, the letter reads. “By his courage, aggressive fighting spirit and selfless devotion to duty in the face of extreme personal danger, Private First Class Griffin upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the United States Naval Service,” the letter reads. “He gallantly gave his life in the service of his country.” Griffin was laid to rest at Beaver Cemetery in Hawkins. ‘You set an example’ Griffin’s name can be found engraved in stone on Panel 22W, Line 77 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., along with the more than 58,000 fellow service members who died in action. His name is also found on the memorial’s website. The memorial maintains profiles for individual soldiers, where people can post photos, biographical information and personal tributes. His Silver Star award letter states his actions in battle “inspired all who observed him.” Though they were half a world away, his family members was inspired, too: His brothers, including Wofford, served in the military as well. Janice Griffin-Guthrie, the boys’ sister, commented on Walter Griffin’s memorial profile in 2022: “Joe, from the first time I realised I had a big brother who would always look out for his family and especially his little sister, I was proud. But more than anything else, you set an example for your younger brothers to follow. Yes, we miss you but we knew it was your nature to defend those that you cared about. We are so blessed to have shared the time we had with you. We always love you forever and a day.” Others have taken time to drop by his online memorial as well. In 2016, a man named Howell Young Charlie identified himself as a soldier in the Ninth Marines who remembers Griffin’s heroism. “It has been 47 years but that day will be for ever in my dreams and nightmares,” he wrote. “RIP fellow 1/9er and guard the gates of Heaven until I get there.” ‘Got to keep remembering them’ Wofford Griffin, who lives in Longview, knew where he needed to be for Memorial Day: back home in Hawkins, he said. As he sat underneath a tree at the memorial, he wore a red shirt blazoned with gold lettering, showing that his family is a Gold Star Family – the designation given to those who’ve lost a loved one in combat. Wood County didn’t always have a ceremony honoring fallen soldiers, Wofford Griffin said. And for many years, his brother’s death was little known, even in the town where he grew up. When he was in school, Black soldiers weren’t honored, Wofford Griffin said. Teachers also didn’t discuss with students the fact that someone from their hometown had died in combat. Even when Hawkins’ veterans’ memorial events began, some of the organizers were unaware that a man from town had been killed, Griffin said. “They didn’t know about anyone that was killed from Hawkins,” Griffin said. For years, Griffin joined his mother at veterans’ memorial events in Smith County, where she brought the photo of Walter. “When she got ready to pass, I said, ‘Mom, I will keep this going for you and for the family,’” Wofford Griffin said. He estimates he’s done so for 25 years, though the duty has become more challenging. His health is in decline, and he walks slowly using two forearm crutches. The photo, wrapped with rope, hangs around his neck as he walks from his truck to the place where he’ll sit. After Monday’s ceremony was over, he looped it around his neck, ambling in the hot afternoon sunshine back toward his truck on Beulah Street. In spite of the physical hardship, “it’s very much worth it,” he said. “And I won’t let it be forgotten.” He does wonder which family member will carry on the tradition once he’s gone. “If you’re not going to the ceremonies and really puttin’ your heart in it, you don’t need it,” he said. “You got to put your heart in it.” As he got ready to hop in his truck, a firefighter from the Wood County Honor Guard yelled to Griffin out of the window of the truck she was riding in: “Thank you for your service.” “Thank you,” Griffin replied. “God bless.” “God bless you, too,” the firefighter replied. “Thank you for doing what you did so I can do what I do.” Griffin said he’s put everything in God’s hands and does what God wants him to do. That includes honoring his brother — and others — who died for freedom. “If we don’t remember them, we’ll soon forget,” he said. “We’ve got to keep remembering them and teach our young ones about them so they will know.”

HAWKINS — People in lawn chairs took up most of the space beneath the shade trees, finding respite from the hot afternoon sun during a Memorial Day ceremony Monday at the Greater Hawkins Veterans Memorial.

But next to U.S. Army veteran Wofford Griffin was a framed, black-and-white photo of his older brother, U.S. Marine Corps Private First Class Walter Joe Louis Griffin. The portrait of the sharp, stern-looking Black soldier — dressed in his Marine Corps dress uniform — was placed on a metal stand.

Walter Griffin was killed in action during the Vietnam War in 1969. He posthumously was awarded the Silver Star — the third-highest military commendation for valor in combat — for his “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action” during his final battle. Wofford passes copies of the award letter to those who are interested in the story; he keeps them behind the photo.

Like everyone else at the Memorial Day ceremony, Wofford Griffin was there to honor the men and women who died in defense of the nation’s freedoms. It’s the kind of recognition his brother didn’t always receive after he gave up his life for his comrades.

“This type of function is outstanding to our heart, knowing that people do still care,” Wofford Griffin said.

A ceremony to remember

Monday’s Memorial Day ceremony in Hawkins drew a crowd of a few dozen to the grassy field and monument along Beulah Street in the Wood County town. Community members spoke about the sacrifices made by the soldiers who breathed their last while in the line of duty.

Keynote speaker Paul Gant, a Vietnam War veteran from Hawkins whose son is serving in the U.S. Special Forces, recounted his family’s lengthy military history dating back to World War I. His son, who has been stationed in Poland near the Ukraine border, is about to reenlist.

Gant told the crowd his family’s service, and his own, gives him a deeper appreciation for the people from the area who served the nation — whose names were engraved on the monument behind him.

“As we honor the fallen today, let us also remember the families who have borne the weight of their loved ones’ sacrifices,” Gant said. “The legacy of service of sacrifice transcends generations, binding us together in a shared commitment to the ideals of freedom and justice. Let us pledge to uphold the values which so many have fought and died for. Their legacy is our responsibility.”

It’s a responsibility Wofford Griffin takes personally.

‘Gallantly gave his life’

Wofford Griffin was 9 years old the day he learned his brother, 20, had been killed in action.

“Oh, my Lord,” he said as he recalled the story. “We was at the swimming pool, and we got word to come home. And we saw the government car there.”

He paused.

“And when we did,” he said, “we knew what happened.”

The Griffins grew up in Hawkins. Walter Griffin, born on Feb. 25, 1949, was a machine gunner with Company C in the First Battalion of the Ninth Marines. On June 18, 1969, the private first class and his platoon were on patrol in the Khe Sanh Valley in the Quang Tri Province, one of the most war-torn regions of what was then South Vietnam.

The platoon came under heavy fire — including machine guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers — from a large contingent of well-hidden North Vietnamese Army troops. The story is chronicled in Walter Griffin’s Silver Star award letter, signed by H.W. Buse Jr., who was the lieutenant general of the Marine Corps at the time.

Griffin sustained serious wounds early on during the onslaught. But he continued to fire his gun at the enemy, and his work was “devastatingly accurate,” according to the letter. And he did so without having a safe place to hide himself.

“Resolutely maintaining his exposed position, he enabled his platoon to reorganize and evacuate the injured to a position of relative safety,” the letter reads. “Steadfastly refusing medical attention, Private First Class Griffin completely disregarded his own painful wounds and continued to fire at the enemy until he was mortally wounded by a hostile hand grenade which impacted near him.”

Griffin’s efforts were critical to the defeat of the North Vietnamese forces, the letter reads.

“By his courage, aggressive fighting spirit and selfless devotion to duty in the face of extreme personal danger, Private First Class Griffin upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the United States Naval Service,” the letter reads.

“He gallantly gave his life in the service of his country.”

Griffin was laid to rest at Beaver Cemetery in Hawkins.

‘You set an example’

Griffin’s name can be found engraved in stone on Panel 22W, Line 77 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., along with the more than 58,000 fellow service members who died in action.

His name is also found on the memorial’s website. The memorial maintains profiles for individual soldiers, where people can post photos, biographical information and personal tributes.

His Silver Star award letter states his actions in battle “inspired all who observed him.” Though they were half a world away, his family members was inspired, too: His brothers, including Wofford, served in the military as well.

Janice Griffin-Guthrie, the boys’ sister, commented on Walter Griffin’s memorial profile in 2022: “Joe, from the first time I realised I had a big brother who would always look out for his family and especially his little sister, I was proud. But more than anything else, you set an example for your younger brothers to follow. Yes, we miss you but we knew it was your nature to defend those that you cared about. We are so blessed to have shared the time we had with you. We always love you forever and a day.”

Others have taken time to drop by his online memorial as well. In 2016, a man named Howell Young Charlie identified himself as a soldier in the Ninth Marines who remembers Griffin’s heroism.

“It has been 47 years but that day will be for ever in my dreams and nightmares,” he wrote. “RIP fellow 1/9er and guard the gates of Heaven until I get there.”

‘Got to keep remembering them’

Wofford Griffin, who lives in Longview, knew where he needed to be for Memorial Day: back home in Hawkins, he said.

As he sat underneath a tree at the memorial, he wore a red shirt blazoned with gold lettering, showing that his family is a Gold Star Family – the designation given to those who’ve lost a loved one in combat.

Wood County didn’t always have a ceremony honoring fallen soldiers, Wofford Griffin said. And for many years, his brother’s death was little known, even in the town where he grew up.

When he was in school, Black soldiers weren’t honored, Wofford Griffin said. Teachers also didn’t discuss with students the fact that someone from their hometown had died in combat. Even when Hawkins’ veterans’ memorial events began, some of the organizers were unaware that a man from town had been killed, Griffin said.

“They didn’t know about anyone that was killed from Hawkins,” Griffin said.

For years, Griffin joined his mother at veterans’ memorial events in Smith County, where she brought the photo of Walter.

“When she got ready to pass, I said, ‘Mom, I will keep this going for you and for the family,’” Wofford Griffin said.

He estimates he’s done so for 25 years, though the duty has become more challenging. His health is in decline, and he walks slowly using two forearm crutches.

The photo, wrapped with rope, hangs around his neck as he walks from his truck to the place where he’ll sit. After Monday’s ceremony was over, he looped it around his neck, ambling in the hot afternoon sunshine back toward his truck on Beulah Street.

In spite of the physical hardship, “it’s very much worth it,” he said. “And I won’t let it be forgotten.”

He does wonder which family member will carry on the tradition once he’s gone.

“If you’re not going to the ceremonies and really puttin’ your heart in it, you don’t need it,” he said. “You got to put your heart in it.”

As he got ready to hop in his truck, a firefighter from the Wood County Honor Guard yelled to Griffin out of the window of the truck she was riding in: “Thank you for your service.”

“Thank you,” Griffin replied. “God bless.”

“God bless you, too,” the firefighter replied. “Thank you for doing what you did so I can do what I do.”

Griffin said he’s put everything in God’s hands and does what God wants him to do. That includes honoring his brother — and others — who died for freedom.

“If we don’t remember them, we’ll soon forget,” he said. “We’ve got to keep remembering them and teach our young ones about them so they will know.”