Griff Eldridge- Darlington School

Griffith went by his nick name in his home town. He was well known as Yank. Never got the full story of how he aquired this nick name. Griffith Morgan Eldridge Jr. was born to Griffith Morgan Eldridge Sr. (1891 - 1922) and Mamie Adel McArthur (1892 - 1982). He had siblings James Donald (1915 - 2004) and Agnes Ruth Eldridge (1918 - 2008). "Yank" was a World War II combatant. He was KIA over Austria. A tail gunner, he stayed on his plane drawing German planes' fire so that the crew members could safely get away. There were also not enough parachutes for him to use one, though at a certain altitude he jumped from the plane, breaking both legs. He was found a year later a mile from a village. First buried in France during World War II, he was later reburied in Oak Grove Cemetery, Americus, Sumter County, Georgia. He received the Purple Heart and the Air Medal.