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2010 Deployment to Afghanistan
1st Battalion 2d Marine Regiment
Camp Lejeune, N.C.
KIA: April 1, 2010 in Helmand province, Afghanistan
Lance Cpl. Tyler O. Griffin, 19, was killed in action (KIA) April 1, 2010, the result of injuries sustained while serving in United States Marine Corps in Afghanistan. Tyler was born June 4, 1990 in Norwich, CT. He is the son of Susan (Perry) Wilding and Brian Griffin , who predeceased him, and John Wilding of Voluntown. Tyler graduated from the Griswold High School in 2008. He served his country, enlisting into the Delayed Entry Program at the age of 17 with the United States Marine Corps. At age 18, Tyler graduated from platoon 2086, “G” Company, 2nd Battalion at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C. He was in Afghanistan as a member of 1st Bn 2d Mar, (RCT-2, MEB-A Fwd), 2d Mar Div, Camp Lejeune, NC, supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Voluntown, Conn. — NorwichBulletin 4/5/2010
Friends and members of the Voluntown Baptist Church remembered Tyler Owen Griffin on Sunday as a kindhearted, giving young man who loved football and his country. Devin Quinn, 20, a third-class cadet at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, said Tyler was thoughtful, even as a boy. “I remember one kid didn’t have money to buy a belt in elementary school,” Quinn said. “He would get in trouble because his pants would fall down, and (Griffin) went out and bought a belt for this kid.” “When he was younger he wanted to play football, and I think it just fits him going into the military, serving his country. He just looked out for others.” Griffin played football at Griswold High School and was a New england Patriots fan, Quinn said. He said Griffin has an older sister. Devin Quinn’s parents choked back tears after Easter morning service at the Voluntown Baptist Church. “I just looked at Tyler’s picture,” said Wayne Quinn, his voice breaking. “It’s hard to look. He’s one of the guys.” “Tyler was very kindhearted,” Kathy Quinn said. “He would give the shirt off his back.” Griffin was in the same class as Marc Girard, 17, who drowned almost two years ago while trying to save his father at Green Falls Pond in Voluntown. Tyler was active in the church’s youth group, joining in seventh grade, said Wendy Vachon, leader of the group. She met Tyler when he was in fifth grade and she worked as a paraprofessional at the elementary school. “First of all, he was just a beautiful child,” she said, describing a boy with blue eyes and an infectious smile. “He was always full of mischief, and would constantly like to play practical jokes on me,” said Vachon. Yet he was respectful at the same time, she said. “I did know, speaking with him, that he had a sense of loyalty to his country, of wanting to go out there and get the bad guys,” she said. “When he joined the Marines, I was very excited for him. … He was excited.”
Tyler's family on left