Meet the First Asian American Female Officer in the U.S. Navy

A Korean American woman broke glass ceilings of her time when she became the first Asian American female officer to serve in the U.S. Navy at the height of World War II.

Susan Ahn Cuddy, who reached the rank of lieutenant, became an unlikely leader to countless White men, thriving in an atmosphere of anti-Asian sentiment and sexism in the military.

Susan Ahn Cuddy. Image via Susan Ahn Cuddy Facebook Page

Born to the first Korean married couple to immigrate to the U.S., Cuddy, the third of five children, learned the value of independence from a young age.

Her father, Dosan Ahn Chang-ho, was an outspoken activist who fought to liberate Korea from Imperial Japanese occupation until his death in 1938.

Dosan Ahn Chang-ho. Image via Susan Ahn Cuddy Facebook Page

As such, Cuddy felt compelled to enlist after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941.

Graduating from San Diego State University in 1940, she joined the U.S. Navy in 1942, where she would serve until 1946.

Ahn family (from left, top: Ralph, Philip, Philson; from left, bottom: Soorah, Helen and Susan). Philip was the first Korean American film actor to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Ralph was also an actor known for “Amityville: A New Generation” (1993), “Panther” (1995) and “Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace” (1996). Image via Susan Ahn Cuddy Facebook Page

When she first tried to sign up for a naval officer’s school, Cuddy was rejected because she was Asian, according to biographer John Cha.

Determined to make Japan pay, she then enlisted as a service member, excelled at training and eventually qualified for officer school.

Ralph, Philip and Susan all enlisted in the U.S. military. Image via U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command

It did not take long before the 5-foot-1-inch candidate became an officer, teaching male trainees air combat tactics.

“It was a white world and if you wanted to do anything you just had to forge ahead,” her son Flip told StoryCorps in August.

Hence, Cuddy the first Asian American woman in WAVES — or Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service — the Navy’s corps of female members.

She was also the Navy’s first woman gunnery officer, eventually becoming a full lieutenant.

Years after her service, she recalled disobedient trainees, including one who stated “I’m not shooting until I see the whites of those Japs’ eyes.’”

Cuddy ignored the slur, her son said. To that, she replied, “I don’t care what you do up there. But when you’re down here with me, you do what I tell you to do.”

Ahn instructs a sailor on how to fire a .50-caliber machine gun at the U.S. Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida (1943). Image via Susan Ahn Cuddy Facebook Page

Cuddy went on to continue blazing trails after the war. In 1947, she defied her mother’s wishes and married a White man, escaping anti-miscegenation laws in Virginia, where she had been living, and tying the knot on base instead, Time noted.

The Korean American trailblazer and her husband, Chief Petty Officer Francis Cuddy, had two children: Flip and Christine.

Susan and Frank celebrate their first wedding anniversary in Virginia (1948). Image via Susan Ahn Cuddy Facebook Page

“Mom basically was a trained killer,” Flip told StoryCorps last year. “She’s a much different parent than, you know, someone who owned a bakery.”

“She was really unusual,” Christine said. “She’d been through so much, teaching guys how to shoot. It’s like, what do you need to teach a kid? You know? Go out and play.”

Cuddy served as one of America’s top intelligence analysts during the Cold War. Image via Susan Ahn Cuddy Facebook Page

Cuddy also worked for the U.S. Navy Intelligence, and later the National Security Agency, where she ran a think tank of 300 linguists and other experts on Soviet Union intelligence.

She also worked on many top-secret projects for the Department of Defense until her retirement in 1959, according to KoreanAmericanHeritage.com, where Flip serves as a host.