Trump pays tribute to late Korean-American naval officer
Susan Ahn Cuddy / Korea Times files
By Park Ji-won
U.S. President Donald Trump paid tribute to the late Susan Ahn Cuddy, the first Asian female officer in the U.S. Navy and a code breaker during World War II, in the May 2018 proclamations as part of honoring Asian-Americans' contributions to the nation.
In the White House official statement released on April 30, Trump mentioned Susan Ahn Cuddy, saying “she was the first Asian-American woman to join the U.S. Navy during World War II.”
“She was the daughter of the first Korean couple to immigrate to the United States, also uplifted the Nation through strong work ethic, an unwavering love of country, and a steadfast devotion to her life mission, even in the face of great adversity,” Trump said in the statement.
Her father was Ahn Chang-ho, a prominent independence fighter during the 1910-45 Japanese occupation of Korea and an early Korean-American immigrant, moving to San Francisco with his wife in 1902. He died in Korea in 1938 due to harsh prison conditions after the Japanese arrested him for his independence activities.
Ahn Cuddy enlisted in the U.S. Navy when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in 1942. Trump's proclamation added she excelled as a code breaker and became the Navy's first female aerial gunnery officer.
The U.S. Embassy to South Korea welcomed her nomination on May 2, tweeting “May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! Donald Trump highlights and honors Susan Ahn Cuddy, Korean-American trailblazer and daughter of Korean independence activist Ahn Chang-ho, in his Presidential Proclamation for #asianheritagemonth.
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Along with Ahn Cuddy, Trump also hailed Indian-born astronaut Kalpana Chawla.
The U.S. administration said they decided to honor two people as the two contributed immeasurably to the U.S.' development and diversity as a people.