Memorial honors fallen Airman

  • Published
  • By Lois Walsh
  • Team Eglin Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  A single, stone monument stands alone between two benches. It symbolizes the hero one family loved and lost.

In an official ceremony, the monument was dedicated as memorial to Staff. Sgt. Patrick Griffin, the only Eglin Airman killed in combat during OPERATION Iraqi Freedom.

Family and friends joined Michelle Griffin while her children, Corey and Makensie, unveiled the marker. An etching of Griffin adorns the top while the bottom holds a plaque commemorating his service to the country.

Griffin was assigned to the 728th Air Control Squadron while stationed here. It was fitting to honor him on the 10-year anniversary of his death. The permanent marker is in the shadow of the 33rd Fighter Wing's Nomad Memorial which honors 12 Airmen killed in the 1996 Khobar Tower bombing. He died May 13, 2003, when his Air Force unit's convoy was ambushed while traveling from Kuwait to the airport outside Baghdad.

Col. Andrew Toth said careful preparations by Griffin leading up to his deployment equipped his team for success.

"While he never made it to Baghdad, his legacy lived on. The equipment got there, the others arrived and because of his preparations, important work was accomplished."

Griffin's death was a tremendous blow to the 728th ACS and 33rd FW communities. Since his passing, Toth acknowledged many changes have happened in both units during the last decade.

"But what has remained steadfast is the name that adorns the street we drive down each day - Griffin - Griffin Way," Toth said.

Corey and Makensie were only three and five years old when their father died, and time has not diminished the emotions his passing caused.

"He was an amazing father who loved his family, he was a devoted Airman and had a pure sense of right and wrong," Michelle said. This memorial offers much healing for people."