Robert G. Griffith
Army Air Forces
Rank: Technician
Service Number 19048329
Unit: 20 Pursuit Squadron 24th Pursuit roup
Death: June 6, 1942
Courier Tribune
14 Nov 1940
page 8
Mr. and Mrs. Guy Griffith received word from their son, Bob, last week that he had joined the Army Air corps and has been at Hamilton Field, near San Francisco until recently, when he sailed for the Philippines.
Courier Tribune
29 Dec 1941
page 1
Christmas “All’s Well” From Son in Philippines
The finest Christmas greeting, received by Mr. and Mrs. Guy Griffith, north of Seneca, came by cable and telephone. It was a simple message, an “all’s well,” from Robert Griffith, son who is in the air corps in the Philippines. Robert is a graduate of Seneca high school. He has been stationed at Nichols and Clark fields. The cablegram was the first word from him since October 20. The parents are temporarily relieved but of course remain anxious about Robert’s continued safety while the Philippines battle rages.
Courier tribune
13 April 1942
page 1
Bob Griffith Was On Bataan
North of Seneca, Attended School Here
The gallant forces defending Bataan peninsula in the Philippines crumbled under the incessant strain last week. Little has been given out to indicate the number of men cap- turned or casualty, nor number that reached Corregidor Island, where the fort still holds under repeated attack of the Jap bombers. Rob Griffith, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Guy Griffith, who live north of Seneca and west of Bern, is believed to have been on Bataan. His parents have had no word for some time to allay their anxiety. Bob was in the air corps. Most of the planes on Bataan were knocked out, and the air corps joined with the infantry in ground fighting. Bob is a graduate of the Seneca high school. He was 21 last January 5. He joined the air corps in August 1940, in Calıfornia. Capt. Arlie Higgins, son of Mrs. W. H. Higgins, Seneca, is somewhere in the Philippines but from earlier indication may not have been on Bataan.
Courier Tribune
20 Aug 1942
page 1
Bob Griffith Listed Missing
He Was In Bataan Action
By Bern Correspondent
Mr. and Mrs. Guy Griffith Seneca route, who live west of Bern, have received official word that their son Robert, former Seneca student, is missing in action on Bataan peninsula. His name does not appear on the casualty list. However, a final check-up cannot be made for some time to come. Mr. and Mrs. Griffith had appealed to the Red Cross in getting some news from their son. The last letter they received from him was written in November. They received a cablegram of Christmas greetings. Bob was serving in the air corps according to last word.
Courier Tribune
31 Dec 1942
page 1
From Seneca, Major Arlie Higgins, also Bob Griffith, from north of Seneca, have been unheard from since fall of the Philippines. Orville Edman, Centralia was reported missing in the Philippines.
Courier Tribune
11 Sept 1944
page 2
Robert G. Griffith reported missing in action int he Philippines over a year ago, was declared officially dead May 8, 1944, leaving as his nearest kin, his parents, Mr. and MRs. Guy D. Griffith. Mr. Griffith was appointed administrator.
Courier Tribune
26 June 1947
page 1
Announce Identification Of Soldier’s Remains
Robert G. Griffith, Technician 3rd grade, U. S army, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Guy Griffith, of north of Seneca, gave his life in the Philippines during the recent world war. While it has been long realized that he must have lost his life, his remains were among the unidentified dead until recently.
The following item is from the Kansas City Quartermaster department:
Recent announcement from Washington of the positive identification of the remains of 353 American soldiers, including six from Kansas, who died in the Philippine Islands during the Japanese occupation, is one of the many examples of the thoroughness and persistency being exhibited by the American Graves Registration Service and the Quartermaster Corps in establishing the identities of previously recorded unknown dead of World War II, Col. M. A. Quinn, Commanding Officer, Kansas City Quartermaster Depot, stated.
The identified Kansans, who were among a group of approximately 1,600 buried in Camp O’Donnell Prisoner of War Cemetery on Luzon and later reburied in the U. S. Armed Forces Cemetery Manila No. 2, include Technician 3rd grade Robert G. Griffith, Seneca, Kansas.
Next of kin of the deceased have been notified by The Quartermaster General of the Army, T. B. Larkin, according to Col. Quinn.
“Identities of the unknown were established by the Office of The Quartermaster General following more than a year of research and study and interrogation of liberated prisoners of war, including officers who survived the period of imprisonment,” Colonel Quinn ex-plained. “Certification of the correctness of the identification in each case was made by an Army Board of Review which examined all the facts gathered by American Graves Registration Service personnel and Quartermaster Corps identification experts.
“Those facts included among other things dental charts, on which a number of months were spent in comparisons finally authenticated by a Dental Corps officer. Each of the remains was examined and the clues in each case collected and studied/until overwhelming evidence regarding identity could be presented to the Review Board.”
Present plans call for a continued study of all other remains that are still in an unidentified status in temporary military cemeteries over the globe in an effort to obtain further additional identifying media, Colonel Quinn advised
