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| Lt. Aaron Cuddeback was a B-17 co-pilot in the 306th Bombardment Group. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56297933/aaron-e-cuddeback http://www.americanairmuseum.com/unit/255 |
Aaron Cuddeback never had a chance to reach 100 years old. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
Last year I was not able to write a profile everyday from September to November because I was studying for the Certified Financial Planner test (I passed!). I feel my project to honor one U.S. serviceman for each day of the war would be incomplete if I left them off. As I have time, I am going back and adding profiles for the days I missed.
Aaron was born on October 16, 1918 in Portland, Oregon. His parents Solomon and Margaret were born in Pennsylvania and Oregon, respectively. His father worked as a shipyards caller and later as a post office clerk. Aaron had two older brothers and two older sisters. By 1940 Aaron was still living at home and had completed three years of college. In his free time he participated in the McKenzie Flying Association.
His older sister Margaret was living in Osaka, Japan where she was working as the director for the Baptist Christian Center. She had lived there since the mid-1930s. She taught English and was in charge of a kindergarten for the children of factory workers. She became fluent in speaking Japanese. When the war started she was interred.
Aaron volunteered for the Army Air Forces in August 1941, and completed army air school in March 1942. He was trained to fly B-17 Flying Fortresses as a co-pilot and became a first lieutenant in the 368th Bombardment Squadron, 306th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force. It was sent to England in September 1942.
On March 4, 1943, Lt. Cuddeback's plane was part of a mission to bomb the marshaling yards in Hamm, Germany. His plane was attacked by German fighter planes while still over the North Sea. It crashed into the water with no survivors.
In October 1943, Margaret reached India, having obtained passage on a neutral vessel from Japan. She made it back to Oregon in early 1944.
Aaron's cenotaph memorial is at Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial in Margraten, Holland. His sister Margaret lived to age 97 and died in 2006.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
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