Lt. Susan Ahn Cuddy, a World War II Navy officer, exemplified the warrior ethos through her relentless determination and groundbreaking service.
Born on Jan. 16, 1915, in Los Angeles, Cuddy was the oldest of five children born to Dosan Ahn Chang Ho and Helen Ahn, who immigrated to the U.S. from Korea in 1902. At that time, Korea faced increasing Japanese oppression.
Many pro-independence Koreans fled to America as the situation worsened. Korea became a Japanese protectorate in 1905 and was annexed by the country in 1910, as Japan sought to suppress Korean culture and language. Dosan, a respected leader in Korea’s independence movement, turned the family’s home in California into a hub for others seeking freedom. His frequent trips to Korea to support pro-independence efforts ended in 1926 when he was arrested and imprisoned for anti-Japanese activism. He died in captivity in March 1938.
Despite this loss, Cuddy said she and her siblings learned a tremendous amount from their father. In a 2015 LA Times interview, she said her dad helped guide her in life by not forcing her to be traditional. Instead, he encouraged his children to be free-thinking and independent.
Cuddy took that philosophy and ran with it. She played women's baseball in high school and at LA City College. She then transferred to San Diego State College (now University) in 1940 and graduated with a degree in sociology. Around that time, World War II was ramping up around the globe, as were anti-Asian sentiments due to Japan's imperial expansion.
When Pearl Harbor happened, that distrust increased dramatically in America, but it didn't deter Cuddy from wanting to do her duty to her country. She said her dad had always taught them to be good Americans while not forgetting their Korean heritage. She wanted to honor her father and fight the Japanese who had imprisoned him. So, in early 1942 she enlisted in the Navy.
A Hard Charger
Cuddy was initially rejected when she applied to join the Women's Reserve of the U.S. Naval Reserve – better known as the WAVES, which stood for Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service. She reapplied, and in December 1942, she was accepted as an enlisted member. She was part of the first group of WAVES to go through a five-week training course at a centralized recruit training center that had just opened in Cedar Falls, Iowa. From there, Cuddy was sent to a training program in Georgia to learn how to use early flight simulators that she in turn instructed future pilots on.
Next, she was temporarily reassigned to be an aerial gunnery instructor to help aircrews practice aiming at moving targets. An officer who appreciated her work recommended she go to officer training, so in late summer 1943, Cuddy attended a 90-day officer training course at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. That fall, she was commissioned as a WAVES officer.
Since Cuddy had experience as an aerial gunnery instructor, the Navy used her as a test case. In November 1943, she was sent to gunnery school in Pensacola, Florida, to train on a variety of weapons. Upon graduation, she became the first female Navy gunnery officer. In January 1944, now-officer Cuddy was sent to Atlantic City Naval Air Station to train naval aviators on how to fire a .50-caliber machine gun.
By the time she became a lieutenant, Cuddy had begun working with elite codebreakers at the Naval Intelligence Office, thanks to her ability to speak Korean. Initially met with skepticism, she earned trust through her competence, eventually serving as the office’s liaison with the Library of Congress.
Post-War Service
On Sept. 2, 1945, Japan officially surrendered, ending World War II and freeing Korea from Japan's occupation. Cuddy's father's dreams of Korean independence were finally realized He eventually became a national hero in South Korea. Cuddy left the Navy in 1946. In her waning days with Navy intelligence, she met Chief Petty Officer Francis Cuddy, an Irish American codebreaker who also worked on matters pertaining to Korea's independence. The two married in April 1947.
As a civilian, Cuddy worked as an intelligence analyst and section chief at the National Security Agency and ran a think tank during the Cold War. She worked on top secret projects for the Defense Department and supervised more than 300 scholars and experts in Russian affairs.
By 1959, the Cuddys moved to LA to start a family. The couple had two children: a daughter, Christine, and a son named Phillip. Cuddy also worked in civic engagement and helped to build bridges between communities.
A Life Well Lived
In honor of her commitment to public service, Cuddy was named Woman of the Year in 2003 by California State Assembly District 28. In 2006, she received the American Courage Award from the Asian American Justice Center in D.C. Cuddy died in her sleep at her Northridge home on June 24, 2015. She was 100. But even in her last few weeks, she kept her calendar full. One of her last speaking engagements was at the U.S. Navy Seabee Museum in Port Hueneme, California.
Cuddy's pioneering spirit and can-do attitude serves as an inspiration for all those who follow her.