An Interstate 25 bridge overpass on North Academy Boulevard now bears the name of the first Coloradan — and likely the first American service member — killed in the attack that brought the U.S. into World War II.

The Daniel T. Griffin Memorial Bridge was dedicated in a brief ceremony on Wednesday outside the Academy Hotel, near the overpass. Dozens of city and state leaders, military veterans, and Griffin family members were on hand for the ceremony, which marked the third naming of a Colorado Springs bridge after a World War II hero.

The I-25 bridge over Cimarron Street was named after retired Navy Lt. James “Jim” Downing in October 2018. Less than a year later, Colorado Springs named a bridge over I-25 at Fillmore Street in honor of Navy Gunner’s Mate 2 ^nd Class Donald G. Stratton.

Tuesday’s dedication was a culmination of a years-long passion project by Dave Griffin, Daniel’s grandson. Dave and his siblings grew up hearing their grandfather’s story, passed down by their father, Don, who was 14 months old at the time of Daniel’s death.

Dave Griffin, grandson of fallen World War II hero Daniel T. Griffin, presents Sallie Clark with a lei as a token of appreciation for her efforts in getting the bridge named.

“He told us kids the story early on, because he wanted it to live on through the generations,” Dave Griffin said during Tuesday’s dedication.

A 1928 graduate of Colorado Springs High School (now Palmer High School), Daniel T. Griffin was standing watch in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941, when Japanese bombers began attacking the naval station. He reportedly alerted others of the attack before swimming out to his plane, which sat in the waters of the bay.

As the naval aviator began to take off, the plane was strafed by machine gun fire and crashed. The injured Griffin was shot and killed as he attempted to swim to shore.

Griffin’s body, recovered five days after the attack, remained interred in Hawaii from 1941-1947, according to multiple reports. He was eventually moved to Colorado Springs, where he is interred at Evergreen Cemetery.

Griffin was posthumously cited for his bravery, and USS Daniel T. Griffin, a destroyer escort, was commissioned in his honor in 1943.

But according to Dave Griffin, “from 1947 to 2015, nobody in Colorado Springs really knew anything about him.”

That’s when Pikes Peak Library District archivist Bill Thomas came across a trove of information about Griffin while perusing the library’s archives. He reached out to retired Navy Capt. Greg Thomas (no relation), who heads the Doherty High School Naval Junior ROTC. The naval science instructor has featured Griffin prominently in the school’s Hall of Honor mural.

“Without the efforts of Bill Thomas and Capt. Greg Thomas, none of this would have happened,” Dave Griffin said.

Dedicating the bridge was more complicated than it might seem, according to Sallie Clark. Clark, who previously served as the city’s adviser for government and military affairs, helped lead a collaborative effort between the city, the Colorado state legislature, and the Colorado Department of Transportation to complete the project.

“You can’t just decide to put up a sign,” said Clark, who now serves as the state director for USDA Rural Development in Colorado. “There’s a lot that goes into it.”

Former City Council President Randy Helms, an Air Force Academy graduate, noted the irony of the overpass, which leads to USAFA’s south gate, being named for a Navy sailor.

“He was a pilot, though, so that makes it OK,” Helms said.

The Griffin family is currently in talks with the Palmer High School Alumni Association in hopes of having a Daniel Griffin memorial placed at the school when it is renovated.

“I really want this story to live on with the kids,” Dave Griffin said. “We want to at least expose future generations to it, and I think this is the way to do it.”