‘Authentic Hero’ Samuel C. Grashio Dies At 81 Ex-Air Force Officer Survived Death March

Samuel C. Grashio, a retired Air Force colonel and highly decorated World War II hero, died on Sunday. He was 81.

He was a man of great faith, courage, compassion, patriotism and humor, according to those who knew him.

Grashio was born and raised in Spokane and returned here after the war. A pilot in the war, he was well-known as a Bataan Death March survivor and for his escape from a Japanese prisoner of war camp. He wrote a book, “Return to Freedom,” chronicling his war experiences.

“He was truly an authentic hero,” said his friend, retired Air Force colonel Eugene Cunneely. “Today a lot of books are being written about that generation, like (Tom) Brokaw’s book `The Greatest Generation.’ “Grashio is the epitome of that generation. He wanted to be a pilot and serve and he did it.”

After Grashio retired from the Air Force in 1965, he worked at Gonzaga University, his alma mater, recruiting students and then in development.

Cunneely, who knew Grashio since the ‘60s, said the pilot did not talk about his war experiences unless pressed. But when Grashio retired from Gonzaga in 1977, Cunneely talked to him about the war and encouraged him to record his stories. Grashio became interested and his book was born. He also became involved in various prisoner of war groups and causes.

While his war exploits have been written about often, family and friends remember most a fiercely loyal man of strong beliefs.

“He believed totally and completely in God, family and country - in that order,” said his lifelong friend, Seaton Daly, 81.

“Another thing about the kid, he knew what he wanted, where he was and how to get there. He had the courage and guts to get it.”

Daly recalls life at the Grashio family home at 110 E. Mission near Gonzaga. He called the house so often he still remembers the phone number.

“There was humor and laughter and a lot of joy,” Daly said. Grashio’s father, Tony, was a barber who was a wonderful storyteller and that was where Grashio got his humor, Daly said.

Grashio credited his faith in God and his will to live and his will to be with his family as the saving grace that got him through the war. Grashio was a religious man, Daly said, but he did not wear his religion on his sleeve.

“He wasn’t walking around with a rosary in his hand,” Daly said. “He wasn’t preaching and trying to convert everybody.”

Grashio was an emotional man. “He could laugh and cry and had joy and sadness,” Daly said. “He was a little above average in intensity.”

Daly met Grashio when he was 16 and they were attending what was then known as Gonzaga High School.

“He was extremely loyal, you could count on him. If you were friends, he stuck with you forever,” Daly said.

The two were so close that Grashio would look at him and say, “I know what you’re thinking,” Daly said. “Even if it wasn’t something good.”

During those school days, Grashio loved to have fun.

“He was aggressive, not milquetoast,” Daly said. “We had to keep a collar on him. He had a lot of friends.”

In 1986, Grashio returned to the Philippines and the scene of the Bataan Death March. Friends and family remark that Grashio’s attitude toward his former captors and war enemies illustrates his true character. Grashio met with Filipino guerrillas who aided him, but he also met with a Japanese pilot who shot at him.

“It’s remarkable, his attitude about it,” Cunneely said. “The fact that he forgave the Japanese who imprisoned him, who beat him up. He held no animosity.”

One of Grashio’s four daughters, Judy Dawson of Spokane, said her father’s compassion was the greatest thing about him.

“He could’ve had so much hatred and animosity,” she said. “But the way he raised us, he always said to us that we are no better than anybody else. He made us have experiences to let us know how lucky and fortunate we are.”

Dawson said her father always led by example.

“He was such an inspiration. He rarely ever, ever said anything mean or cruel about anybody.

“He had so much faith in the Catholic Church and God. He always raised us to know we can get through hard times with faith and God gives us hope.”

“He was a strong believer in God and carried it over to all aspects of his life,” said his son, Sam Grashio. “He was always there for any of his children.”

Sam Grashio is a veteran of the Vietnam War and said his father was able to understand the trauma of Vietnam and the effect it had on him.

“He realized the common thread between all warriors,” his son said.

After the elder Grashio suffered a stroke, he lived with Dawson for two years. His humor was still a hallmark, she said.

“He loved candy. He’d hide it and then eat it and then come down and say, `Where did all that candy go?”’ One time Grashio did something that made Dawson mad.

“He loved to kiss and hug you. He could provoke you, then he wanted to make up.” This time he kept saying he was sorry, but Dawson wasn’t ready to make up.

“But then he started chasing me around the island in the kitchen, saying `Come on,”’ Dawson said. “I couldn’t help but start laughing.”

Grashio is also survived by his wife, Devonia; three other daughters, Patricia Ohlidale, Mary Elizabeth Grashio and Celene Riccelli; sisters Laura Parkins, Clara Krumm and Lena Barber; 14 grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.