Hundreds of American flags lined the streets and the cemeteries in Centralia. People drove slowly down the roads on a rainy Saturday morning. The parking lot at Centralia High School filled quickly for the memorial service for Sergeant Rodney Griffin, half with cars and half with motorcycles, many from the Patriot Guard.
People formed a line that extended out the doors for the visitation. Then they gathered into the gym for the service.
Rodney Griffin’s military funeral would be like most others; only this one is coming about 45 years late.
“[It] really puts tears in your eyes, you know, to see so many people come out in support of the family and this young man,” said David Coleman, an assistant state chaplain with American Veterans and a veteran of the U.S. Navy. “[He’s] been lost for a long time and now he’s come home. This is the story of all of mankind.”
Coleman is one of many who came from outside Centralia to pay tribute to Griffin, whose remains were lost for 45 years after he died in an Army helicopter crash in the Vietnam War. The helicopter crashed in 1970 and Griffin was officially declared deceased in 1974. Then in February of this year, Griffin’s remains were found in a grave near the crash site in Cambodia.
“It’s just bittersweet really. You know it’s sad to realize that, because in the back of your mind sometimes you think maybe he was a prisoner of war or maybe he’s still alive,” said Norma Jones, a member of Griffin’s 1968 Centralia High School graduating class. “I’m glad that we finally have closure with this, because you never know what’s really happened, and so now that we know… we have a peace now.”
The discovery gave the community a chance to gather and remember Griffin’s life, both as a soldier and as a friend. Marie Wyss, another member of the 86-person graduating class, said she remembers Griffin as something other than a hard-nosed Vietnam War soldier.
“He was our class clown. I mean he could make you laugh,” said Wyss. “The most serious moments… you didn’t dare look at Rodney, because he would make you laugh.”
Ed Torreyson is the commander of VFW Post 6276 in Centralia. He also went to school with Griffin and they were both drafted into the Vietnam War around the same time.
“Oh, he was quite a character, and he was a very likable person,” said Torreyson. “He was always around and just had fun all the time.”
Torreyson said he is glad that he can finally welcome home his fellow soldier.
“It means a lot. It really does. We can [get] closure. The family can, and it’s great to have him home,” said Torreyson.
The chairs were full for the service, and some had to find seating at the top of the gymnasium bleachers. Captain Ryan Ball, a Centralia native, opened the ceremony with a speech. Ball said that even though Griffin died before he was born, Griffin’s story inspired him when he was training as a guardian for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington.
“Each day for me was in honor and in remembrance for Rodney and to every other keeper out there who has not yet returned home to their family and loved ones,” said Ball.
Other war veterans, family members, and friends spoke to the crowd to pay tribute to Griffin.
Sergeant Tom Nelson, Griffin’s brother-in-law, read off names of other Vietnam War soldiers from Centralia who had lost their lives in service, and the two other men whose remains were recovered at the same gravesite where Griffin’s remains were found.
As the choir sang and the service ended, Griffin’s remains were taken from the school to East Lawn Memorial Park in Mexico, the same cemetery where his parents are buried.