PETER M. CUNNINGHAM, MAJ, USAF
Peter Cunningham '59
Lucky Bag
From the 1959 Lucky Bag:
PETER M. CUNNINGHAM
Bremerton, Washington
First Company
Having overcome many obstacles prior to entering the Naval Academy, Pete was able to successfully cope with the obstacles of Plebe year. After this year his success with the women provided him and his roommates with a constant source of drags. Although his size kept him from participating in football, he showed great skill with a racquet and competed in Plebe and battalion tennis and company squash. Pete's ambition and determination to succeed carried him through four years at the Academy and will undoubtedly make him a success after graduation.
PETER M. CUNNINGHAM
Bremerton, Washington
First Company
Having overcome many obstacles prior to entering the Naval Academy, Pete was able to successfully cope with the obstacles of Plebe year. After this year his success with the women provided him and his roommates with a constant source of drags. Although his size kept him from participating in football, he showed great skill with a racquet and competed in Plebe and battalion tennis and company squash. Pete's ambition and determination to succeed carried him through four years at the Academy and will undoubtedly make him a success after graduation.
Loss
From Wikipedia:
18 September 1969: A U.S. Air Force twin engine Douglas C-47 Skytrain crashed just after takeoff from McChord AFB in Tacoma, Washington. It came down in a wooded area just south of the runway. Five men died and seven other men were injured. Killed were Army 1st Lt. Joseph R. Baxter, assigned to Madigan General Hospital at neighboring Ft. Lewis, who died six hours after the crash; Lt. Col. Robert E. Walker, pilot and commander of a detachment of the 15th Weather Squadron at McChord; the co-pilot, Capt. Peter Cunningham of Tacoma; Air Force TSgt. Donald G. Love, the flight engineer, also assigned to McChord and an Army man, who was not immediately identified. The injured Air Force personnel were MSgt. William B. Johnston of McChord; Lt. Col. Jack S. McKinley of Virginia; Sgt. William D. Wallace of West Virginia; TSgt. Billy D. Byrd of Tucson, Arizona; and Sgt. Charles L. Andrews of Florida. Injured Navy personnel were PO 2C Charles B. Nichols of California, and PO 3C. Darrell E. Calentine of California. Also injured was a retired Air Force MSgt. Granville Hicks of Missouri.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Peter Cunningham – photos from yearbook (He only smiled in the group photos which are too small to copy, argh!) and one from Naval Academy visit to West Point
Known as “Pete” at Bremerton High School, he participated in Tennis, Golden Paw, National Honor, Boys Club Cabinet, Torch Honor (President). Stair-step siblings Jim, Susan and Sarah were all in high school with Peter during his senior year.
As a junior at the Naval Academy, Peter went on a visit with 75 other midshipmen to West Point for an exchange weekend (see photo.)
Born in Fort Dodge, Iowa, his parents were Edward, a farmer, and Veronica (Dunscomb) Cunningham.
He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Letters and other mementos from his life were sold to a Vietnam memorabilia collector following his wife's death.
Photographs
From his high school yearbook
From his high school yearbook
From a photo taken during a visit to West Point while he was a midshipman
Notes
His gravestone has a rank of Captain but Memorial Hall has Major. He was a Captain in the 1969 Air Force Register; the 1970 edition is not available online.
Unable to find a citation for the Distinguished Flying Cross listed on his gravestone.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
