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Record Detail |
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| Full Name: |
Eric James Griffiths |
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| Rank Last Held: |
Gunner |
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| Forename(s): |
Eric James |
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| Surname: |
Griffiths |
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| War: |
Korean War, 1950-1953 |
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| Serial No.: |
204461 |
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| Date of Birth: |
2 April 1927 |
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| Place of Birth: |
Auckland, New Zealand |
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| Occupation before Enlistment: |
Carpenter |
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| Next of Kin: |
Mr A. J. Griffiths (father), Edward Street, Te Kuiti, New Zealand |
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| Enlistment Address: |
Te Kuiti, New Zealand |
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| Body on Embarkation: |
Kayforce |
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| Military Awards: |
New Zealand Operational Service Medal (NZOSM) |
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| Last Unit Served: |
New Zealand Artillery, 16 Field Regiment |
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| Place of Death: |
Korea |
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| Date of Death: |
17 February 1953 |
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| Age at Death: |
25 |
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| Year of Death: |
1953 |
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| Cause of Death: |
Killed in action |
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| Cemetery Name: |
United Nations Cemetery, Pusan, Korea |
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| Obituary: |
NZ Herald, 19 February 1953, p. 8. |
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| Biographical Notes: |
- Served with Kayforce 1952-53
- "... a tragic incident occurred in E Troop when a faulty 213-fuse detonated while being screwed into a shell which was being held between the legs of a gunner. The shell exploded, killing two men, and mortally wounding another. This disaster, which took the lives of Lance-Bombardier Joseph Shortland, and Gunners E. J. Griffiths and P.R. Berry, meant that 17 February 1953 was Kayforce's worst day in terms of fatalities." (McGibbon 1996, vol. 2, pp. 331-32) Gunner Griffith's sister, Mrs Marion Leeney of Auckland received the New Zealand Operational Service Medal on his behalf from the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence at a presentation at the Auckland War Memorial Museum on Thursday 27 November 2003
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| Further References: |
- Ian McGibbon, New Zealand and the Korean War, Volume II: Combat Operations, Oxford University Press, Auckland, 1996, pp. 332, 371, 404.
- New Zealand in the Korean War. NZHistory online. URL: http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/war/korean-war
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