Col. Francis J. Cuddy Jr. Usmcr (Ret.)

����������� Col. Francis J Cuddy Jr. USMCR (Ret.) died on May 25, 2008 with his family at his side after a courageous three-year battle with Metastatic Colon Cancer. Col. Cuddy was born in Stamford, Connecticut, February 12, 1940, the eldest of six children to Marion Dyer Cuddy of Stamford, CT and the late Francis J. Cuddy Sr.� ����������� He grew up in Stamford, Connecticut with dreams of becoming a pilot. He graduated from Stamford High School in 1958. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps out of high school. He spent five years as an enlisted man where he obtained the rank of Sgt. From there he applied to become an officer so he could become a pilot. He was accepted and attended the University of Rhode Island where he played Football as a tackle and was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. ����������� He graduated with a degree in Education in the spring of 1966. On June 12th he was commissioned a 2nd Lt. in the Marines Corps. While waiting for attendance to flight school he played football for the Pensacola Gosshawks. Upon completion of flight school he was assigned to the Presidential Helicopter Squadron. Shortly after, his orders came in to fly helicopters in Vietnam. ����������� He arrived in Vietnam in August of 1968 where he flew 988 combat missions. While in Vietnam his helicopter was shot down twice and he was once wounded in action. He received the Silver Star, three Distinguished Flying Crosses, 49 Air Medals, the Navy Commendation Medal, the Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, Presidential Unit Citation, Navy Meritorious Unit Award and the Vietnam Service Medal with four Bronze Stars.�� ����������� After his tour in Vietnam he returned to the Pensacola Naval Air Station to teach at the flight school. It was there where he met Navy Nurse Lt. Susan Ann Carey. They were married on November 25th 1972 in Pensacola. Soon after, Francis came off of active duty and joined the reserves. ����������� They moved to New England to start a family and finally settled down in Amherst, NH in 1982. They had three children; Capt. Michael Francis USMC (Currently deployed in Afghanistan), Francis Joseph, and Thomas Patrick. Col. Cuddy spent the remainder of his Reserve career at South Weymouth Naval Air Station with his last command being Commanding Officer of HML-771. He retired from the Marine Corps after serving an illustrious 39 years In his civilian occupation he was a contract corporate Jet pilot flying for numerous aviation companies in the world retiring in December of 2005. ����������� Col. Cuddy belonged to various organizations including, the Reserve Officer Association, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, Military Officer Association of America, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, and was a Life Member of the National Rifle Association. Locally he was the Service Master of the VFW Post 4368 in Milford, NH.����������� Calling hours are Wednesday evening, May 28th from 6-9 pm in the Smith & Heald Funeral Home, 63 Elm Street, Milford, NH.� A mass of Christian burial will be celebrated on Thursday at 10:00 am in St. Patricks Church, 34 Amherst Street, Milford.� Burial with full military honors will be in Arlington National Cemetery at a later date.� Charitable donations can be made to The Marine Corps Heritage Foundation in Quantico, VA 307 5th Ave Quantico, VA 22134 (703) 640-7961