Frederick W. Grigg was born on May 17, 1897 in the Germantown section of Philadelphia. He was the 10th of 11 children of William and Mary Grigg. In the summer of 1910 the Grigg family moved to Merchantville.
Young Frederick first joined the United States Army at the age of 16. He served in Battery B, 1st New Jersey Artillery during the intervention with Mexico in 1916. After the Battery returned to Camden he was mustered out of the service.
When the United States enter the Great War, Frederick enlisted in the Second New Jersey National Guard. After several stateside assignments Grigg sailed for France in June of 1918 where he was assigned to Company E, 113th Infantry Regiment.
