Ensign Don T. Griswold, Jr., (8 July 1917 – 6 June 1942) was a United States Naval Aviator

United States Naval Aviator

A United States Naval Aviator is a qualified pilot in the United States Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard.-Naming Conventions:Most Naval Aviators are Unrestricted Line Officers; however, a small number of Limited Duty Officers and Chief Warrant Officers are also trained as Naval Aviators.Until 1981...

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Biography

Born in Bryan, Texas

Bryan, Texas

Bryan is a city in Brazos County, Texas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 76,201. It is the county seat of Brazos County and is located in the heart of the Brazos Valley . It shares its border with the city of College Station, which lies to its south...

, he attended Iowa State and after graduation joined the Naval Aviation Corps. During the Battle of Midway

Battle of Midway

The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...

, 6 June 1942, his Douglas SBD-3 "Dauntless"

SBD Dauntless

The Douglas SBD Dauntless was a naval dive bomber made by Douglas during World War II. The SBD was the United States Navy's main dive bomber from mid-1940 until late 1943, when it was largely replaced by the SB2C Helldiver...

 scout-bomber

Dive bomber

A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target reduces the distance the bomb has to fall, which is the primary factor in determining the accuracy of the drop...

 scored a hit on a Japanese ship but was hit by antiaircraft fire and plunged into the sea. Griswold's radioman-gunner, Kenneth Cecil Bunch

Kenneth Cecil Bunch

Kenneth Cecil Bunch was born on 21 January 1919 in Norman County, Minn. He enlisted in the United States Navy at Des Moines, Iowa, on 9 March 1937 and received his "boot camp" training at San Diego, Calif. Rated as seaman 2d class on 9 July 1937, Bunch was transferred to Scouting Squadron 42 ten...

, also died.

Ensign Griswold was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross

Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)

The Distinguished Flying Cross is a medal awarded to any officer or enlisted member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself or herself in support of operations by "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight, subsequent to November 11, 1918." The...

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Namesake

The Evarts-class

Evarts class destroyer escort

The Evarts class destroyer escorts were destroyer escorts launched in the United States in 1942–1944. They served in World War II as convoy escorts and anti-submarine warfare ships. They were also known as the GMT or "short hull" DE class, with GMT standing for General Motors Tandem Diesel...

 short-hull destroyer escort

Destroyer escort

A destroyer escort is the classification for a smaller, lightly armed warship designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships, primarily of the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection...

 USS Griswold (DE-7)

USS Griswold (DE-7)

USS Griswold was an Evarts-class short-hull destroyer escort in the service of the United States Navy, the second ship named for Ensign Don T. Griswold, who perished during the battle of Midway 1942....

was named for him and launched in 1943.