He left for war and returns a real hero

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Robert L. Jamieson Jr.

Monday, March 21, 2005

He left for war and returns a real hero

By ROBERT L. JAMIESON Jr.
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER COLUMNIST

A hero soldier from Fort Lewis is home.

People are coming from everywhere to salute him.

They are coming from Tacoma and Las Vegas and all over Iowa. Some are coming from as far away as Germany.


		Family photo
	A recent photo shows Fort Lewis Army Sgt. Donald Griffith and his wife, Stacy. Their eighth wedding anniversary was yesterday.

They are bringing two of his favorite toys, his baby blue and black Harley-Davidson motorcycle and the tan-and-gold pickup he saved up to buy before heading for Iraq in late September.

So many people want to be in his presence, his hometown will open up the local school to hold the big gathering today.

His young nieces will be there. He always makes time to have lunch with them at their elementary school when he is on Army leave.

Two childhood pals are flying in. Years ago, he and the duo formed a kid posse called the Three Caballeros, the three gentlemen.

Also planning to be on hand is a pair of 70-something women he always plays cards with. Folks joke that the elderly ladies are his girlfriends, but he's married and has been for eight happy years.

His wife, Stacy, will be present too, along with his mom, his dad and his six brothers and sisters.

They wouldn't miss this for anything.

Donald Griffith Jr. of Lakewood, with roots deep in small-town Iowa, is back from the war in Iraq, back on U.S. soil.

There are plans to give the 29-year-old sergeant a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.

People will look at his photos -- the ones where he is swarmed by smiling Iraqi kids grateful for his gifts of candy and school supplies -- and smile with pride. They will think about how this young man with the brown saucer eyes has blossomed into the kind of person that folks point to, saying, "There goes a good man."

A week ago last Friday, Donald was with his Stryker Brigade unit in Iraq when enemy forces pounced in a sneak attack.

Donald came under heavy fire, but he was able to warn his fellow troops, preventing casualties.

His captain phoned long-distance to vouch for Donald's act of valor, calling him one of "the finest and bravest soldiers" the Army has produced.

The wife of another Army mate says Donald has saved the skins of other soldiers during the war in Iraq more than once. "Saved my husband's life," she says.

Those who know Donald will tell you he has always been this way, always putting others ahead of himself, always spreading cheer, always saving someone. Or something.

As an 8-year-old, he noticed a boy who had moved into the neighborhood and had no one to hang out with. Donald marched off to the boy's house and knocked on the door: "Hey, kid, do you want to come out and play?"

Growing up, he worked at a veterinary hospital. It pained Donald whenever the staff had to put animals to sleep.

That explains how his parents' house became home to two dozen birds, a desert tortoise, hamsters, snakes and six cats, including an orange tiger feline named Chester.

Donald, a real life Dr. Doolittle, would get a tattoo of Chester on his arm.

Donald joined R.O.T.C. in high school. After graduation, the Army beckoned, a career move that pays in a lot of ways -- if not always monetarily.

What limited funds Donald did have he didn't mind sharing. During basic training he sent a letter that touched his sister. "I have money saved up," he wrote, "if you need it for your prom dress."

One time Donald walked into the office of Army brass.

"Is there a problem?" a high-ranking official asked.

"No, sir," Donald replied with his patented smile. "Just happy to be here."

Whenever people have asked, Donald will tell them he was happy to be in Iraq, fulfilling a duty he embraced because it will help the people of Iraq and make the world a bit safer.

A week ago, just hours before he warned his fellow soldiers about the attack in Tal Afar, Donald sent an e-mail to his family.

"It's pretty positive over here right now," he wrote. "Haven't been shot at for over two weeks.

"I guess that's a good sign, isn't it?"

No instrument on Earth can measure the depth of the man they will honor today, one day after his eighth wedding anniversary.

The city fathers have Donald's picture on fliers all over town.

His heroics earned him a 10-second snippet on the local Seattle news, which is barely enough.

But even though not much has been made of it, hundreds of relatives and friends know what Donald did.

And so they are coming to salute him -- including representatives from the 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment who will be adorned in their military finest, as will Donald.

If only Donald could see all these lives he touched.

But he was killed in the March 11 attack.

Today, the brave young soldier has come home for a hero's funeral.

P-I columnist Robert L. Jamieson Jr. can be reached at 206-448-8125 or robertjamieson@seattlepi.com

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