Ninety-three years young, Korean American pioneer Susan Ahn Cuddy still knows how to rev up a crowd, as she proved Feb. 4 at a pro-Obama rally on the UCLA campus.
The crowd of 8,000 in attendance at the pre-California-primary event - headlined by Oprah Winfrey and the presidential hopeful's wife, Michelle Obama - gave the petite, white-haired Cuddy a standing ovation as she threw her support behind the candidate whom she said reminded her of her father, Korean patriot Ahn Chang Ho.
"I see echoes of my father in him," she later told KoreAm Journal, "in his ability to inspire people to take action and to make changes, in his skill as a speaker, in his dedication to bringing people together."
Cuddy joined the U.S. Navy in 1942, despite the opposition of military officials who wanted to refuse her enlistment because she was Asian. With World War II raging, she wanted to join the military in the hope of defeating Japan, which would lead to Korea's independence. She would become the first female gunnery officer in the Navy in 1944.
At the UCLA rally, Cuddy talked about growing up during a time of segregation and rampant discrimination. Citing the fact that someone like Barack Obama is running for the highest office of the land, she said to loud cheers, "You know, we've come a long, long way."
- Julie Ha