ERNEST H. GREPPIN, III, LTJG, USN
Ernest Greppin, III '89
Lucky Bag
From the 1989 Lucky Bag:
Ernest Haquette Greppin
Westwood, Massachusetts
We came back from 3/c crulse to a sea of new faces. We didn't even know our classmates. I don't think I ever met Ernle that year, I just heard stories. I kept hearing storries of successive all-nighters and mental breakdowns. Just rumor though. Glick, Jake, and Head managed to secure a barn with new furniture. However, as 2/c year rolled around Ernie had no roommate, so we acquired him. At first the three of us were a bit apprehensive, but his multi-thousand $ mega-stereo made the transition a bit easier. Now Ernie is happy with his academic situation, "Sooner or later you'll go General." Training Research Liason was a great billet for Ernie, and for the rest of us as well. Ernie managed to secure a phone with an outside line. Unfortunately, he always managed to call girls who were either leaving the country or already had boyfriends. We in 4038 had our own way of telling when spring had come. It was the time of year when Ernie set the alarm for zero-dark-thirty and drove over to the boathouse, where he would row backwards as hard as he could for two hours. Thanks for the good times; the bad times weren't thad bad either.
Ernest Haquette Greppin
Westwood, Massachusetts
We came back from 3/c crulse to a sea of new faces. We didn't even know our classmates. I don't think I ever met Ernle that year, I just heard stories. I kept hearing storries of successive all-nighters and mental breakdowns. Just rumor though. Glick, Jake, and Head managed to secure a barn with new furniture. However, as 2/c year rolled around Ernie had no roommate, so we acquired him. At first the three of us were a bit apprehensive, but his multi-thousand $ mega-stereo made the transition a bit easier. Now Ernie is happy with his academic situation, "Sooner or later you'll go General." Training Research Liason was a great billet for Ernie, and for the rest of us as well. Ernie managed to secure a phone with an outside line. Unfortunately, he always managed to call girls who were either leaving the country or already had boyfriends. We in 4038 had our own way of telling when spring had come. It was the time of year when Ernie set the alarm for zero-dark-thirty and drove over to the boathouse, where he would row backwards as hard as he could for two hours. Thanks for the good times; the bad times weren't thad bad either.
Loss
Ernest was lost on July 15, 1991 in a parachuting incident near Coronado, California. He was a member of SEAL Team 2.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Ernest graduated in 1985 from St. Andrew’s School in Middletown, Delaware. In January 1984, he pinned his Tower Hill opponent in 3:11 in the 169 lb. class.
From the November 1991 issue of Shipmate:
Lt. (jg) Ernest Haquette Greppin, III USN of Westwood, Mass. formerly of Hingham, Mass., died in a parachute training accident in San Diego, Calif. 15 July 1991. A private burial service was held at The Hingham Cemetery following a memorial service at St. Paul's Church, Dedham, Mass. Donations in Ernie's memory may be made to The Henley Fund, St. Andrew's School, Middletown, Del. 19709. He was 24 years of age.
Lt. (jg) Greppin attended Derby Academy, Hingham, Mass., Dedham Country Day School, Dedham, Mass., and graduated from The Fessenden School, West Newton, Mass. and St. Andrew's School, Middletown, Del. He was a 1989 graduate of the United States Naval Academy. An oarsman, he rowed at The Royal Henley Regatta in 1985 for St. Andrew's School and was a member of the Heavyweight Varsity Crew at the Academy. In addition, he was a member of the Union Boat Club of Boston.
From the Naval Academy Lt. (jg) Greppin went on to become a member of the Navy's Seal Team 2. He was a graduate of Army Airborne School as a Naval parachutist. He was designated a Naval Special Warfare Officer on 16 November 1990. He was awarded the National Defense Service Medal in June, 1991.
He is survived by his parents Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Haquette Greppin, Jr. of Westwood, Mass. and his sister Barbara Ripley Greppin of Middletown, Del. He also leaves his maternal grandmother Mrs. Lawrence Dana of Cumberland Foreside, Maine and eight cousins.
From Veteran Tributes:
Ernest Greppin was born on May 25, 1967, in Boston, Massachusetts. He entered the U.S. Naval Academy in June 1985, and was commissioned an Ensign in the U.S. Navy on May 31, 1989. Ensign Greppin completed his fleet training, and then attended Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, California, from October 1989 to April 1990, followed by Basic Airborne training at Fort Benning, Georgia, in April and May 1990. His first assignment was with SEAL Team TWO at NAB Little Creek, Virginia, from May 1990 until he was killed in a parachute training accident in Coronado, California, on July 15, 1991. Ernest Greppin was buried at Hingham Cemetery in Hingham, Massachusetts.
From the April 2000 issue of Shipmate:
Ernie was raised in Boston, MA. and was recruited by Navy as a rower. In his first year with the Plebe Crew, he won the Bronze Medal at the Eastern Sprints and the Silver Medal at the Intercollegiate Rowing Championships. After joining the Varsity, Ernie struggled for a year trying to succeed as a Navy Rower. Many people had their doubts about his ability and were very surprised when, in his Second Class Year, Ernie rowed in the National Championship four-man without coxswain for Navy. After that feat, Ernie went one step further and focused his efforts on attaining his service selection as a Navy Seal. Even though he was not able to repeat a National Championship he stayed on his senior year at Navy Crew and was able to gain a highly coveted position as a Navy Seal candidate. People who knew Ernie would have never pictured him as a Navy Seal. Once again Ernie was able to surprise everyone. Although the Seal's BUDS training was a difficult challenge for Ernie, he completed it and moved on to the next phase of training. Then in a freak accident during a HALO ttaining exercise, he was unable to open his parachute in time and died when he met the earth. It is a true tragedy that a man with Ernie's character and determination left us at such a young age. Bill Serad, Navy Crew captain '89, in his desire to keep Ernie's memory alive at Navy Crew is heading the Class of '89 contribution of a 4-man without coxswain racing shell to the Naval Academy Crew. The shell will have "Ernie Greppin '89" imprinted on the bow. The significance of the boat is obvious; this is the same type of boat that Ernie won the National Championships in 1988.
For those of you who knew Ernie, this is a way of commemorating his greatest accomplishment with Navy Crew and of keeping this memory alive.
He is buried in Massachusetts.
Photographs
Posted by Mary Melissa Newlon Watkins
News
From the "Daily News Transcript" on May 24, 2009, via Find A Grave:
WESTWOOD — Navy SEAL Ernest H. Greppin III didn't start as a scholar or athlete, but a love of rowing and an interest in serving led to success at the U.S. Naval Academy, special forces training, and a dangerous life.
Greppin was leading that life when he died during a High-Altitude, Low Open (HALO) training jump in 1991. Memorial Day ceremonies will begin Monday at 8:30 a.m. with the dedication of a plaque at the corner of Gay and High streets in his honor. The date is also his birthday. He would have turned 44.
"The guy who would be most surprised is Ernie," said his father, Ernest Greppin Jr. Even after he found his place in life, Ernie was a quiet person who didn't have much use for ceremony. There were stories in the Boston Globe and Daily Transcript, now the Daily News Transcript, when he died, Greppin said, but this will be his hometown's first recognition of his service.
"When Ernie died, the military wasn't very popular," his father said.
When Westwood Postmaster Harry Aaron informed Greppin Jr. and his wife, Barbara, about the effort to honor their son and asked if it would be OK with them, they were thrilled.
"It was something we never expected," Greppin Jr. said, "Within a second, I said 'yes"'
Aaron said Town Clerk Dottie Powers brought up the idea of a memorial plague for Ernie three months ago. Powers said Ernie's dad had asked her about the process for having a plaque dedicated a few years ago. She made some inquiries at the time, she said, but nothing came of the idea until she mentioned it to Aaron.
The Westwood postmaster said he was impressed to learn that Ernie was a Navy SEAL at 24.
The Navy Sea, Air and Land Forces, the SEALs, are the special operations forces.
Aaron himself was a member of the Navy's Underwater Demolition Team, a precursor to the Navy SEALs, in 1959. "I picked it up and kind of ran with it," he said.
Aaron approached selectmen, who approved the idea. He also started making calls to people asking for donations to pay for the $1,400 plaque. "That ended up being the easiest part of the project," Aaron said. He raised the money within days, just by word of mouth.
Powers said the state Veterans Affairs department approved the honor, and Paula Scoble in the Westwood Veteran's Services office made the order for the plaque, which will read: Lt. (JG) Ernest H. Greppin III, US Navy SEAL, Born May 25, 1967. Died July 15, 1991.
"I think it's wonderful. It's long overdue," said Powers.
Chris McKeown, the town's newly appointed veterans service agent, started the job while efforts were already under way for the dedication, but he shares the conviction that Greppin III deserves the plaque. "This was guy who was apparently quite a remarkable kid," said McKeown.
"Ernie had a slow start in this world," his father said. He wasn't a great student or stunning athlete. "He didn't have a whole lot of friends."
Ernie grew up in Westwood, but he attended private schools. He went to high school at St. Andrews School in Middletown, Del., and joined the school's rowing crew/team, at which he excelled. His team competed against the Navy, and the Navy coach asked if he wanted to row for them. "Lo and behold, he got into the Naval Academy," his father said.
Ernie graduated in the middle of his class and told his father he intended to join the Navy SEALs.
"I was flabbergasted," Greppin said, "I said, 'There's a lot of danger in that.' He said that's what he wanted to do."
Ernie started SEAL training, where the attrition rate is 30 percent, and he made it. He was 24 years old.
The jump Ernie Greppin III was doing when died is the kind a Navy SEAL does when it is important he not be detected. The SEAL opens the parachute at the last possible moment.
All his mother and father know, said Greppin Jr., is their son's chute did not function properly, and he became the first in his class to die on active duty.
He said he and his wife accept what happened as a consequence of the life their son chose. "Ernie told me, 'When a SEAL dies, you never know,"' Greppin said. "Sometimes, you don't know for a reason."
Greppin said he and his wife are humbled by the dedication for their son, and don't feel it's something that is owed to their family.
"We don't take it for granted in any way. We are incredibly delighted and appreciative of what they've done," he said.
Ernest is one of 6 members of the Class of 1989 on Virtual Memorial Hall.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
