From 1963 to 1964, he took a leave of absence from The Advertiser to work for the Peace Corps, evaluating programs in Asia and Africa.
Obituary for Peace Corps Staff Member John Griffin
Hawaii journalist John Griffin dies at 80
Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser
John Griffin
John Griffin, the former editorial page editor of The Advertiser whose work was informed by his experience as a foreign correspondent and a Peace Corps worker, was remembered yesterday for his objectivity, open-mindedness and wry sense of humor.
After his retirement in 1993, Griffin provided an eloquent voice on affairs particular to Asia and the Pacific.
"I consider him sort of a citizen of the world. I always liked talking to him," said his close friend, Lou Cannon, a retired Washington Post reporter and syndicated columnist.
Griffin, 80, died yesterday morning of cancer. Two of his three children and his wife, Susan Yim, former Advertiser managing editor of features, were at his side.
A longtime journalist, Griffin got his start in postwar Hawai'i, working as a columnist and editor at the University of Hawai'i student newspaper, Ka Leo O Hawaii, while pursuing an English degree.
During the latter part of World War II, he served in the Navy Air Corps, having dropped out of high school "to get in the action," he wrote in a column marking the 50th anniversary of the decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan.
Training at the time with a bomber crew that was certain to join any invasion of Japan, Griffin wrote of his mixed emotions. The use of such terrible weapons against civilians probably saved his life and were probably the only way to stop the fighting.
"It was that kind of bitter war," he wrote.
His first full-time job came in 1953 at the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Griffin worked as a copyboy — once a traditional entry-level newspaper job — before graduating to the reporting ranks.
In 1955, Griffin began reporting for The Associated Press and bagged datelines in such exotic Asian destinations as Manila, Indonesia, Singapore and Saigon.
Griffin was hired by The Advertiser in 1961 to cover Hawai'i politics after then-Editor-in-Chief George Chaplin interviewed him in the Saigon Airport.
Griffin had one more stop before he became editorial page editor. From 1963 to 1964, he took a leave of absence from The Advertiser to work for the Peace Corps, evaluating programs in Asia and Africa.
As editorial page editor, Griffin brought conscience, reason and a willingness to slam hard at any deserving editorial target. In more than 15,000 editorials, he sought to sell ideas, influence the course of public affairs and stimulate rational thought in his community.
"A lot of people don't realize that John was one of the better reporters The Advertiser ever had," said former publisher Thurston Twigg-Smith. "His experience in reporting, particularly his foreign service, made his later columns and comments that much more accurate and objective."
Even though he worked in the one section of the newspaper allowed to rant openly, Griffin, a political liberal, always took the high road. He balanced every editorial decision with fairness.
"He held strong opinions on a lot of issues, but he always tried to listen to the other side and to recognize that reasonable people could reach different conclusions from the same set of facts," said former Advertiser editor Gerry Keir. "He never wanted to go overboard or impute evil or bad motives to the other side. He would always try to make a rational argument."
Bob Dye, a Kailua-based historian and writer, was working for former Honolulu Mayor Frank Fasi when he first met Griffin.
"John was always exceedingly fair in everything he wrote about the city, which I always thought irritated George Chaplin," he said. "He always looked at the other side unfailingly."
Griffin was a skilled wordsmith who used language "as a scalpel instead of a bludgeon," Keir told readers when he announced Griffin's retirement in February 1993.
Keir wrote that Griffin was "perfect for the job."
Of course, there were times when Griffin's editorials infuriated readers. In February 1989, supporters of Ferdinand Marcos planned to burn a paper effigy of Griffin until police told them that was illegal.
So the protesters used a pocket knife, several kitchen knives and a handsaw with large jagged teeth to hack apart the effigy.
Griffin was genuinely amused by that.
"He believed in people arguing with him," Keir said. "When you run an editorial page, you like to think that every once in awhile you tick someone off — or else you aren't doing anything at all."
But he also helped bring people together. Charles E. Morrison, president of the East-West Center, said Griffin helped increase understanding of the Asia-Pacific region and Hawai'i's relations within it.
"Through his reporting, columns and talks before community groups, he spread knowledge and understanding of the complex dynamism of Asia and the Pacific islands," Morrison said. "Although there will be other such voices in the future, John's voice will be sorely missed."
Former Advertiser staffer Jerry Burris, who succeeded Griffin as editorial page editor, praised Griffin's curiosity for the world around him.
"He tried out things, plunged into everything that happened around town," he said. "If someone was proposing a new way of looking at things, he was the first one to go find out what he could.
"A common theme in his writings was generational change and trying to understand what was happening, changes in society and people," Burris said. "He was always musing about that. What was this generation like and how would they be different than the last one? It was an ongoing question in his mind."
