Susan Ahn Cuddy, born January 16, 1915 in Los Angeles, California, was the first Asian American woman to join the US Navy. Her parents immigrated from Korea to the US in 1902.
She was accepted into the Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service on her second attempt and sent to the US Naval Reserve Midshipmen's School at Smith College in Massachusetts. An astonishing feat considering anti-Asian sentiment and sexism ran high. in the country.
She joined the Navy in 1942 and became an instructor on flight simulators, and later she became the first female aerial gunnery officer, instructing male recruits in air combat tactics, during WWII.
Ahn Cuddy was promoted to lieutenant and went to work for the US Navy Intelligence, the Library of Congress, and the National Security Agency.
After her retirement, she spoke at Navy functions and Korean American community events, and was a breast cancer survivor.
She died in June 2015 at the age of 100.
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