Christopher Griffin (Photograph courtesy of Rudyard High School) The local soldier who lost his life in an enemy attack in Afghanistan last week was fulfilling his lifelong goal of serving in the U.S. military, his family members say. On Sunday, hundreds of friends, relatives, and northern Michigan veterans came together on a raw, windy afternoon to escort him home, as a show of respect for that service.

U.S. Army Specialist Christopher T. Griffin, 24, of Kincheloe, died Saturday, October 3, while serving in Kamdesh, Afghanistan. He and seven other U.S. soldiers were killed during an Afghan insurgent attack on their contingency outpost near the Pakistan border.

He was promoted to the rank of sergeant posthumously

Sgt. Griffin's body arrived at Chippewa County International Airport Sunday, October 11, about noon, and was met by an escort of more than 200 friends and family as well as more than 30 motorcyclists from the Forgotten Eagles, Combat Veteran Association, American Legion, and Patriot Guard Riders. The escort accompanied Sgt. Griffin's casket to a funeral home in Pickford.

Hal Boutwell of the Forgotten Eagles veterans motorcycle group, who rode in the escort, said friends, family, and veterans groups participated Sunday in cold, windy weather.

"It was so bitterly cold with that wind, but the people didn't flinch," Mr. Boutwell said. "It was a small sacrifice that we were making for the sacrifice that he made. People knew why they were there, and they were there for the right reason.

"The impressive thing was, while the long motorcade went from Kinross to Pickford, there were people lining the roads," he said. "It was something else. People stood there with their hands over their hearts. It was a very moving and very somber event."

Mr. Boutwell never met Sgt. Griffin, but traveled from Indian River to honor him Sunday. He also plans to attend his funeral Wednesday, October 14, in Rudyard.

Sgt. Griffin was born April 10, 1985, in Sault Ste. Marie. He was graduated from Rudyard Area Schools in 2004 and began army basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, three weeks after graduation. It is said that from a young age Sgt. Griffin knew he wanted to enlist in the U.S. Army.

"That was his thing," said his grandmother, Maggie Balgenorth of Kincheloe. "He played with the plastic army guys [when he was young]. He was always army, army, army."

She said he also enjoyed playing computer and video games and played on the Rudyard High School football and wrestling teams. He was a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

"He was interested in sports like any typical kid," Mrs. Balgenorth continued. "He was a good young man. He had a good life. He had a good mom and a good dad."

His parents are Kerri and Mel Causley of Petoskey, and Rick and Kathy Baker-LaDuke of Kincheloe. Along with his parents, Sgt. Griffin is survived by five siblings; sisters Darcie, Katie, and Megan Baker-LaDuke, all of Kincheloe, and Melissa Giddis of Boyne Falls, and a brother, Derrick Baker-LaDuke of Kincheloe. He is also survived by grandparents Cherryl Baker of Kincheloe, Tom and Maggie Balgenorth of Kincheloe, and Marcia Griffin of Goetzville.

After completing basic training in the summer of 2004, Sgt. Griffin served in South Korea and Iraq between October 2006 and December 2007. He was most recently stationed at Fort Carson outside Colorado Springs, Colorado, in the Third Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, Fourth Brigade Combat Team, Fourth Infantry Division. His division began its tour in Afghanistan in May.

A funeral for Sgt. Griffin will be Wednesday, October 14, at the Rudyard Area Schools gymnasium at 2 p.m. Another parade of cars will escort him from the funeral home in Pickford to the Rudyard Schools gymnasium beginning at 1 p.m. Those who knew Sgt. Griffin are asked to participate.

In Kinross Township, a street has been named in his honor and a veterans memorial plaque is planned by the township.

His obituary appears in this issue of The St. Ignace News.