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Portions in quotes, were retrieved from oral history transcription. Robert Allen Griffin was born 27, September 1893 in Kansas City,Missouri to William and Francesca Black Griffin. His father passed away in 1944, his mother followed in 1950. As a boy he was driven to become two things, a newspaper man and a soldier. “I was a most fortunate person,” he had told friends. “I became both.” Moving to Edenvale and later attending Stanford University in California in 1913-17 he established and led the first Citizens’ Military Training Camp on Stanford Campus in 1916 upon his graduation in 1917 he joined the Army and was awarded the rank of Captain. "That was in 1916. I went to the first officer's training camp in San Francisco and to my utter amazement I was commissioned a captain. Well, that was favoritism of some sort, but I don't know quite what sort; except that two of the officers in the training unit I was put in in San Francisco had been Regular Army officers who had been assigned to the Stanford thing, and I presume they were influenced by what I had accomplished at Stanford, something like that. But, at any rate, I was given a higher rank than I dreamed was possible or warranted." While serving in the First World War, Griffin commanded F Company, 364th Infantry Regiment of the 91st Infantry Division he would go on to serve with distinction in the Great War, being awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Purple Heart, the WWI Victory Medal with 2 Campaign Stars, a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor, Croix de Guerre with Palm from the French Government. The citation for his actions to be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and Purple heart are as follows: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Captain (Infantry) Robert A. Griffin, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with 364th Infantry Regiment, 91st Division, A.E.F., near Epinonville, France, September 26 - 29, 1918. His company having suddenly become trapped in the smoke and fog under heavy enemy artillery fire, Captain Griffin displayed notable coolness in getting his men to cover in a trench near by, being the last to take shelter, though he was knocked down by bursting shell in so doing. As soon as the fire abated he quickly re-disposed his men and led them toward the enemy. On the next afternoon, during the attack on Epinonville, he led eleven soldiers in a successful charge on an enemy machine-gun nest. Later he personally assisted in carrying in wounded men of his company under heavy machine-gun fire. On the afternoon of September 29 Captain Griffin was severely wounded while on a patrol, but he continued on under heavy machine-gun and artillery fire, and successfully accomplished his mission. General Orders: War Department, General Orders 81 (1919), Amended Supplement 1 Action Date: September 26 - 29, 1918 Service: Army Rank: Captain Regiment: 364th Infantry Regiment Division: 91st Division, GRH American Expeditionary Forces Upon returning from the Great War in 1919, he began his search for work as a newspaperman. Col. Griffin went on to say, "I finished the war; I went home, and I got myself discharged at Camp Upton, because I wanted to get a job on a newspaper in New York. Well, I didn't. By that time they weren't interested in any war heroes, you know. Then I tried in Philadelphia, and I tried in Chicago. I tried in Denver; I tried in San Francisco. Then I went up to Portland, and I was walking on the streets of Portland one day trying to decide which newspaper I would go to, didn't know a soul, to the best of my knowledge, when a familiar face showed up in front of me. It was a chap who had been a major commanding a battalion that was adjacent to the battalion that I was in at one time, and whom I had seen several times while doing some personal patrolling." Upon receiving a desk job at the Portland Oregonian,he worked there until he was appointed to be Secretary to the Polish Minister Prince Kacper Lubomirski after this illustrious work being the Ministers confidant, friend, and traveling companion, he went to the Monterey Peninsula in California and was convinced in starting a newspaper a paper that Still exists today as The Monterey County Herald on June 15, 1922. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s Griffin was a regional man of action, campaigning to preserve and restore historic sites and buildings in the Peninsula as well as beautifying the area with legislation against billboard advertising, and hanging signs from local buildings as well as keeping open areas for public enjoyment. In 1935 he founded KDON Radio which still exists and is based in Salina's California. In Spring of 1941, he rejoined the Army at the age of 47, he managed to pull strings with his personal friend General Benjamin Lear, "He had gotten me back in the Army. I rejoined the Army in the spring of 1941; not in December, but in the spring. I left my business, my wife closed our house, and so forth, and we went to Memphis. It was foolhardy in a way, but I was sure we would be in the war. I was sure of that when Munich took place. And from that time on I tried to see how I could get back in the Army. I got in the back door through General Lear and friends, with the understanding that I didn't want to stay in the Specialists Corps -- in fact, I never wore the insignia. I wore crossed rifles from the time I reported to duty. He told me later it was very obvious to him that I was out of uniform, but he didn't want to scold me about that. I never believed in this bunk that you could serve your country better by staying at home and doing something pleasant. That's what young men say. I only wanted one more thing; I was a vigorous man and I wanted somehow to get back into combat duty. I knew a lot of Army officers and I respected them very much, but I knew I was much smarter than many of them; and I felt that if I could get a command I'd handle it well. And Lear knew what I wanted, although I took what I could get." Griffin went on to speak about his service in the WWII, being involved in Campaigns in Normandy, Brittany, Belgium and Germany being wounded once in Messac. "He was in that job when I was wounded in France in the Second World War during the period we (the 13th Infantry) were supporting the 4th Armored Division south of Rennes. I was wounded in a combat patrol operation that I happened to be with. It wasn't serious and I had it dressed and we went along. Later when we were in the Huertgen Forest a lot of difficulty set in, in my elbow. They tried to fix me up there, and finally they sent me to Paris. And then in Paris the only mistake they made was not to take x-rays. So, they sent me to Washington. I was in Walter Reed Hospital and there's where a young doctor said, "I think this had better be x-rayed," because nothing was showing except the old scar. And they found this spent bullet. Some bullets went through, one spent bullet lodged there, and nobody knew it. I was sewed up there. FUCHS: From machine gun fire? GRIFFIN: Burp gun. I killed the man who did it, but I didn't know he had really hurt me. It was all very exciting and it happened in a hell of a hurry. And I never felt too good about killing him, either. It was not a pleasant thing, because he was young and good-looking and, hell, you get disgusted after those things take place. It's easier at a distance, you know. FUCHS: Most of my action was in tanks. It was more impersonal. GRIFFIN: But, the upshot of that was that they took an x-ray and found this and extracted it, and then Lear came over to see me in the meantime. He had come over to see me twice when he was ground forces commander, because I had been with him, you see. And he asked me what I wanted to do. He said, "Do you want to go home or do you want to go back?" "Well," I said, "I want to go back. I have to go back; I have to finish the damn thing." He said, "They are about to give you a board. You know you are terribly overage; and you have been somewhat disabled." He said, "I'll see what I can arrange." I then read in the paper that he had been appointed by Marshall (I'm getting back to Marshall again, you see) to be deputy theater commander in France. That sounds very big; actually it was to mop up the rear. Eisenhower's command had left all sorts of scattered stuff with little or nothing to do; and Lear's job was to clean that up, retread troops, and so forth; and do that in England, too. So, just before he left he came to see me again. He said, "Now, Allen, when you feel you're ready to go, you feel a little bit cocky, you telephone ground forces and ask for so and so" -- I forget the officer's name -- and tell him you're ready to leave, he'll have his instructions." And he said, "I'm leaving tomorrow." Well, Lear left, a week passed, I couldn't stand it any longer, I was scared to death that the board might work, you know. So, I telephoned ground forces and told them I was ready. Do you realize they had me out of there the next day? FUCHS: Pretty good for the Army. GRIFFIN: And flew me over. So, I joined Lear there, and ended my career as a staff officer, which was the thing I wanted to get out of, and did get out of; but I had a very successful regiment. FUCHS: Which regiment? GRIFFIN: The 13th Infantry Regiment of the 8th Division. I had a wonderful regiment and a wonderful time, a very enjoyable time. During the Second World War, Col. Griffin was awarded the Legion of Merit with Oak Cluster, the Silver Star, Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster an Oak Cluster for his Purple Heart, European, African and Middle Easterns Campaign Ribbon with 3 Campaign Stars Returning from WWII Griffin went back to his paper, working on his own column which appeared from the first edition called "New Comments" even when he was away his editors wrote the column and initialed it as to not stop the publication. In 1947, his country called on him again to be an ambassador to China with an ECA mission to improve and build a relationship with Chiang Kia-Shek and the Red Chinese. He oversaw this until June of 1949, quit and returned home. And in 1950, was sent to assess the possibility of Indochina accepting communism he felt through his study that they would not and returned home. From 1950 to 1952 he assessed and organized aid to Free Countries of the Far East and their receptiveness to communism. On Oct. 4, 1970, Griffin retired from the Herald, he was again honored by the Army and also by the civilian community of the Monterey Peninsula. At Fort Ord, in a morning ceremony, 4,000 troops passed in review for him. He received the Meritorious Civilian Service Award in recognition of his many contributions as a civilian to the Army. And, because of Mr. Griffin’s military service and his fondness for the foot soldier. Major Gen. Phillip B. Davidson, commanding general at the time, gave him a statuette of an infantryman. After the military ceremony, more than 500 of his Peninsula friends honored him at an informal outdoor luncheon at Memory Garden behind Pacific House in Monterey. Mr. Griffin’s favorite literary character was Cervantes’ Don Quixote. Every Jeep he used In World War II was named Rosinante for Quixote’s horse. A drawing of the knight tilting at a windmill hung in the publisher’s office. Mr. Griffin was a member of the Monterey Elks Club, Monterey American Legion Post 41, the Old Capital Club, Cypress Point Club, University Club of New York, Metropolitan Club of Washington, Press Club of San Francisco and Pacheco Club, among many other clubs and organizations. He also was a life member of the Monterey Rotary Club. He was a longtime director of the chamber of commerce and maintained a keen interest in chamber activities. He also was on the board of Community Hospital. He was a member of St. John’s Episcopal Church. Mr. Griffin died in his Pebble Beach home on Sunday, July 19, 1981, at age 87. A Real American Hero. Who Shall Never Be Forgotten.

Robert Griffin