Lawrence John Griffin
PFC Lawrence J. Griffin served with the Marine detachment aboard the battleship USS Arizona.
He was reported missing in action following the destruction of his ship at Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 295032
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
Considered permanently non-recoverable.
Final resting place aboard the Arizona.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
December 4, 1919
at New Orleans, LA
Parents
Lawrence Opte Griffin
Lydia (Rodrigue) Griffin
Education
Details unknown
Occupation
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
September 10, 1940
at New Orleans, LA
Home Of Record
437 Celestine Street
Westwego, LA
Next Of Kin
Parents, Lawrence & Lydia Griffin
Specialty
Ship’s Detachment
Primary Unit
USS Arizona (BB-39)
Campaigns Served
Pearl Harbor
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
Lawrence’s younger brother, Private Robert J. Griffin, was killed in action at Tarawa on 20 November 1943.
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
PFC Lawrence J. Griffin was a member of the Marine detachment aboard the battleship USS Arizona. He was aboard on 7 December 1941 when his ship was bombed and sunk by Japanese aircraft at the battle of Pearl Harbor.
No known eyewitness accounts of Griffin’s death are known to exist. He was reported as missing in action following the sinking; this status was soon updated to “killed in action.”
Burial Information or Disposition
Griffin’s remains were not recovered or identified after the attack. In accordance with Navy tradition, he is considered lost at sea with the Arizona as his final resting place.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of parents, Lawrence & Lydia Griffin.
Location Of Loss
PFC Griffin was killed in action aboard the USS Arizona.
Related Profiles
Non-recovered members of the Arizona Marine detachment, lost at Pearl Harbor.