[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 82 (Thursday, May 16, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E610]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING EDGAR G. GRIFFIN

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JUDY CHU

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 16, 2019

  Ms. JUDY CHU of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the 
life of Edgar G. Griffin, who passed away in April at the age of 94. 
Mr. Griffin was a World War II veteran, proud member of the Knights of 
Columbus, and a longtime resident of California's 27th Congressional 
District.
  Mr. Griffin was born in Leon Guanajato, Mexico on December 7, 1924 
and emigrated to Los Angeles as a teenager with his mother after the 
death of his father. Although he held American citizenship through his 
father, Mr. Griffin joined the Army to secure his mother's residency. A 
paratrooper in the 101st airborne division of the Army, Mr. Griffin 
survived the Normandy landing on D-Day in 1944. He was awarded a 
Presidential Unit Citation for his service, as well as a Purple Heart 
and numerous other medals. At the time of his passing, Mr. Griffin was 
the only surviving Mexican-American veteran of the landing at Normandy.
  After the war, Mr. Griffin returned to California, where he met his 
wife Mimi and they raised their nine children together. After first 
settling in the City of Commerce while Mr. Griffin worked in their 
Aircraft Assembly Radar Section of Hughes Aircraft, the family 
eventually moved to Monterey Park. There, he worked as a sound and 
lighting engineer for the Century Plaza Hotel, until he retired at the 
age of 68. He was also an active member of the Knights of Columbus, 
elected Grand Night four times.
  Mr. Griffin was due to return to Normandy next month for the 75th 
anniversary of the D-Day invasion. He would have been nearly a century 
old and one of very few surviving veterans of the battle that heralded 
the end of World War II. While his passing deprived him of that 
distinction, I would like to take this opportunity to honor the memory 
of a true American hero.

                          ____________________