Navy Lieutenant Susan Ahn Cuddy: Unprecedented Influence in the U.S. Military
- Josephine, 16
- Apr 7
- 5 min read
Born to the first Korean married couple to immigrate to the United States, Susan Ahn Cuddy was the first Asian American woman to become an officer in the United States Navy. Her career helped build the foundation for Asian American women entering the U.S. military, as her initial rejection from the U.S. Navy’s WAVES(Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service) unit was based on racial discrimination. She was unprecedented for her participation during World War II as the first female gunnery officer before being transferred to Naval Intelligence in 1943, and later became active in the civil rights movement. Susan Ahn Cuddy’s contributions to both women’s and Asian American rights paved the way for future generations to challenge societal norms in fields that were once deemed inaccessible.
Early Life and Family
Susan Ahn Cuddy was born in Los Angeles, California, on January 16, 1915. However, her life would be completely different if it weren’t for events that took place in Korea. In the early 1900s, Japan attempted to expand throughout Asia, including Japan’s use of Korean land to wage war against Russia and eventually claiming Korea as a colony. As a result, her parents, Ahn Ki Hong and Lee Hae Kyung, immigrated to the United States in the early 1900s to escape the extreme tensions within. However, they arrived in the United States shortly before the Immigration Act of 1924, a piece of legislation that prohibited immigration from Asian countries, which meant their existence in the US was met with discrimination and criticism despite it being legal. Her father, Ahn Ki Hong, often left the United States to fight for Korean independence, as he strongly opposed Japan’s forced occupation. Japanese authorities in Korea arrested him multiple times, leading to his death there in 1938.
Education and Inspiration
Susan Ahn Cuddy was the third of five children, all of which were born and raised in California. She graduated from San Diego State University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology, in 1940. In December of 1941, a year after Susan Ahn graduated college and three years after the death of her father, the United States entered World War II after the Japanese bombed the US naval base at Pearl Harbor. Susan Ahn felt that it was her duty to fight against the Japanese on behalf of her father, the United States, and Korea.
Overcoming Barriers in the U.S. Navy
Despite the extreme discrimination towards Asian Americans, Susan Ahn was determined to contribute to the defeat of Japan even though it was difficult for women to succeed within the military. In 1942, the same year that US President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066 forced over 120,000 Americans of Japanese descent into camps throughout the country, she enlisted in the US Navy’s WAVES unit. Her initial application was rejected, as a result of her race. However, she persevered and succeeded, as her second application later that year was accepted. Susan was sent to a flight-simulating Link Trainer program in Georgia, where she taught air combat tactics and trained those who had difficulty handling and firing guns, such as a .50-caliber machine gun.
She went on to become the first Asian American woman to join the U.S. Navy, breaking barriers not just for herself, but for generations of Asian Americans and women. In 1943, just a year after joining the Navy, Susan made a groundbreaking move when she became the Navy’s first female gunnery officer. Women were typically expected in support roles, such as serving as military nurses or taking over jobs in the country left by men who went to fight. Many people, including those of high-ranks within the military, believed that women were not capable of performing in combat roles. Susan redefined this pattern, learning how to operate and maintain artillery on the frontlines. Additionally, she was responsible for the operation of naval guns and training others on how to use them. This was difficult at times, as many of her colleagues doubted her authority and did not believe she deserved this important position as a result of her background, race, and gender. Her qualifications were consistently overlooked, especially because of the discrimination towards Asians in America following the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941. Later in 1943, she was transferred to Naval Intelligence. She worked as a radio operator and interpreter, breaking codes and gathering critical information. She served in roles crucial to defeating the Japanese Navy, including working with the Pacific Fleet during WWII.
Advocacy After the War
Following the war, Susan continued to advocate for Asian American rights and women’s rights in ways other than being unprecedented in the military. She became a prominent figure in the civil rights movement, as she worked with organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) as well as other groups that fought for equal rights. During the time she worked at the Office of Naval Intelligence, she met her future husband, Francis X. Cuddy, who was an Irish American. He was a Chief Petty Officer and a codebreaker who was fluent in Japanese, and contributed to supplying military intelligence for the Battle of Midway in 1942. Later, both Francis and Susan went on to work for the National Security Agency (NSA) and were married on April 25, 1947. To avoid persecution under Virginia’s law that made interracial marriage illegal, they married on a naval base in Washington D.C.. They moved from the East Coast to Los Angeles in 1959, following retirement, and helped run her family’s restaurant in San Fernando Valley until its closure in 1990. The couple had two children, Christine and Philip. While Francis died in 1994 at the age of 80, Susan lived until the age of 100 and died in her Los Angeles home in 2015.
Her Legacy
Overall, Susan Ahn Cuddy’s overcoming of discrimination through her contributions to World War II as the first female gunnery officer, her crucial role in Naval intelligence, as well as her actions during the civil rights movement, display how determination can break down barriers that seem unmovable. Despite facing failures, such as her initial rejection from WAVES, she persevered and changed the course of history as the first Asian American female to be an officer in the U.S. Navy. She proved that women– specifically Asian American women– had the capability to serve in important and demanding roles within the military, and should not be confined to domestic or supporting ones. In doing so, she created more opportunities for future generations of women and Asian Americans to succeed in fields previously seen as male-dominated.
Critical Thinking Questions:
What similarities do you see between Susan Ahn Cuddy and Margaret Chung?
How did Susan Ahn Cuddy’s experience as a child of Korean immigrants influence her career and activism?
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