Remember...
Cecil Woodrow Kuhn
1921-1944
"Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die."
Herbert Hoover
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Remember...Cecil Woodrow Kuhn
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Cecil Woodrow Kuhn was born in Ripley, Jackson County, West Virginia, on January 21, 1921. Cecil was one of six children of Nettie Rachael Ballard Kuhn (1892-1989) and Matthew James Kuhn (1894-1956). According to his memorial on Find A Grave (Memorial No. 129745244), his siblings were Sybil Corine Kuhn Sharp (1918-2016), Pauline Imogene Kuhn Skidmore (1922-1999), Carl Eugene Kuhn (1925-2003), James Junior Kuhn (1927-2008) and Burl Ballard Kuhn (1932-2015).
Cecil's second great grandfather was Adam Ash Coon (1799-1888), the 11th sheriff of Boone County, West Virginia, serving from 1871 to 1872. Adam Ash Coon is my fifth great grandfather. Cecil is my third cousin, three times removed. I am honored to write his biography since Cecil and I have the same great grandfather.
Cecil lived his life in Jackson County, West Virginia. According to the 1940 Federal Census, Cecil completed school up through the eighth grade. He was part of the farm/labor industry before he enlisted in the military.
World War II began on September 1, 1939, with the German invasion of Poland. The Coast Guard's role during the war was to get the men to the beaches and provide support. (U.S. Coast Guard, "The Coast Guard During World War II," accessed 12 March 2024, https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/npswapa/extcontent/wapa/coast_guard/cg1.htm#:~:text=In%20the%20ships%20and%20craft,vital%20role%20in%20landing%20operations.)
| Cecil enlisted in the Coast Guard Reserve on April 24, 1942, and was a seaman first class (S1C). His serial number in the Coast Guard was 520-415. |  |
West Virginia reported the fifth highest percentage of servicemen called up during World War II. More than 2000,000 West Virginians, including 66,716 volunteers, 11,000 African Americans, and 600 from West Virginia State College (now University) enlisted in a branch of the military. A total of 5,830 West Virginians were killed during the war. Mountaineers supplied more than 600 million tons of coal to fuel the war. Built in the Kanawha Valley, the world's largest synthetic rubber plant helped America replace Japan as its primary supplier. Our Kanawha Valley also housed the world's largest producer of steel used for battleships, tanks, and other military equipment. (Russ Barbour, "World War II," e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia, 6 June 2019, accessed 12 March 2024, https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1353.)
Cecil died non-battle (DNB). He passed away at the Naval Hospital in Portland, Maine, on March 22, 1944, having contracted measles.
Cecil Woodrow Kuhn is buried at Fairview Cemetery in Jackson County, West Virginia. His headstone is an upright marble headstone and acknowledges his service in the Coast Guard. Cecil is also memorialized at the Veterans Memorial in Charleston, West Virginia.
Article prepared by Caroline Kuhn, with editorial assistance from Patricia Richards McClure
February 2024
West Virginia Archives and History welcomes any additional information that can be provided about these veterans, including photographs, family names, letters and other relevant personal history.