DOB/DOD: March 30, 1925 (Lynn, MA) – March 5, 1945; 19 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Unmarried
LOCAL ADDRESS: His legal residence was Bridgeport, Connecticut, when he was killed. 6 It is unknown what his connection to Bridgeport was. Most of his family lived in Maine or Massachusetts.
ENLISTMENT: September 15, 1942, in Springfield, Massachusetts.
SERVICE NUMBER: 459730
UNIT: Company E, 2nd Battalion, 25th Marines, 4th Marine Division
MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY: 0604, Machine Gun Crewman, and 0607, Mortar Crewman
FAMILY: Born to George D. Cushman (1904-1978) and Vina Ellen Brown Cushman (1906-1988). One sister, Charlotte Cushman Blackburn (1930-2015). 1, 2
CIRCUMSTANCES: Boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina. Training at Camp Lejeune in early 1943. Training at Camp Pendleton in October 1943. 7 Participated in the invasions of Saipan and Tinian. Wounded in action on July 24, 1944. Parents received the Purple Heart from PFC Cushman. 5 Private Cushman, Corporal John McGlew of Meriden, PFC Vincenzo Murrone of Bristol, and Private August Porco of Bridgeport were all in the same company. They died on different days between February 19 and March 15, 1945.
Lee Academy (Lee, Maine) Class of 1942
From The Bangor Daily News on April 5, 1945
Mr. and Mrs. George D. Cushman, of Lee, have been notified by the War Department that their son, Private First Class Paul J. Cushman of the U.S. Marine Corps, Fourth Marine Division, was killed in action on March 5th at Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands. Private First Class Cushman enlisted in the Marine Corps in September 1942, went overseas in January 1944, and participated in the invasion of the Marshall Islands, Saipan, and Tinian. He was wounded in action in the Central Pacific area on July 24th and received the Purple Heart Medal. He graduated from Lee Academy in 1942. Besides his parents, he is survived by one sister, Charlotte Cushman of Lee.
From the 1945 Lee Academy yearbook, a poem written by Paul Cushman that was read at a tree planting ceremony on May 8, 1945. 4
THE UNITED STATES MARINES
There’s the sailor and soldier,
And the aviator keen,
As fine a group of fighting men
As one has ever seen.
But for me, I have a soft spot
For the boy in “forest green,”
The dashing, gallant leatherneck,
The United States Marine.
I will never be first lady,
Nor grace a magazine.
I’ll never be world-famous,
Nor will I be a queen.
But I would never change my lot
With any that I’ve seen.
For, you see, I am the mother
Of the United States Marine.
I’d like to shield this boy of mine
From all that’s wrong and mean,
I’d gladly sacrifice my life.
But he needs no go-between;
For God has given to my son
The gift of life supreme,
The red, white, and blue blood
Of a United States Marine.
Paul Cushman, U.S.M.C.,
Class of 1942
Initially buried in the 4th Marine Division Cemetery on Iwo Jima, Plot 1, Row 23, Grave 1121. At his mother’s request, his remains were repatriated and buried in Academy Cemetery, 31 Winn Road, Lee, Maine; Row 13, Lot 1. 6 Photo from FindAGrave.com. 3
1 – 1930 census https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6224/
2 – 1940 census https://www.ancestry.com/cs/1940-census
3 – FindAGrave.com https://findagrave.com
4 – Yearbook search: https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1265/
5 – 1944-09-04 Bangor Daily News
6 – USMC Casualty Report received via FOIA request
7 – USMC Muster Rolls: https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1089/