A 1997 Penn State alumnus, U.S. Marine Corps Major Sam Griffith, died Dec. 14 during combat operations in Heimand Province, Afghanistan, the university reported.
Griffith was 36, according to Penn State. He is survived by his wife, Casey; two sons, Noah, 6, and Chad, 7; his mother, Kathi Bischoff, of Jupiter, Fla.; and his father, William Griffth, of Fuquay Varina, N.C., the university noted.
Sam Griffith ‘was a great student, and a kind, generous individual. I was proud to have him as a fellow Marine,’ Ted Timmerman, PSU associate director office of veterans programs, said in a written statement. ‘When I was at Sam’s memorial service … there were better than 25 of his classmates who made the effort to attend. That speaks volumes about Sam, because many of them are on active duty, and it’s tough to be able to drop what they’re doing to attend the ceremony.
‘The fact that so many were there is just amazing and speaks to the kind of person Sam was,’ Timmerman said.
A plaque honoring Griffith has been added to a memorial in the Wagner Building entryway, on the University Park campus, Penn State reported. The memorial pays tribute to all Marines and sailors from the University Park campus who have been killed in the line of duty since Sept. 11, 2001.
More information is available via Penn State Live.
