Elvin H. Cunningham was born on May 25, 1924 in the small farming community of Edwall in Lincoln County, Washington to Roy Henry Cunningham and Alice M. Cunningham, nee Herman. He had one older brother, Elmer L. Cunningham. In 1930, the family lived in Edwall, where Roy worked on a wheat farm. By 1940, the family had moved to Dayton, Columbia County, Washington, where Roy was employed by the Works Progress Administration. Roy died of illness in 1944.

Elvin Henry Cunningham registered for the draft on June 30, 1942. He was 18 years old, 5’9” tall, and weighed 150 pounds. He had brown hair, hazel eyes, and a light complexion. He lived in Dayton and was working at the Blue Mountain Cannery. He enlisted in the United States Army on July 28, 1943 in Spokane, Washington. He was single, without dependents, and had a high school education.

Private Elvin H. Cunningham served in 339th Infantry Regiment, 85th Infantry Division. The 85th Infantry Division went overseas on December 24, 1943. After training in France, it embarked for Naples, Italy, arriving on March 27 for the Italian Campaign. On May 11, the Division launched its attack on the Gustav Line, taking towns and cities in the Gaeta Peninsula and opening the road to the Anzio beachhead. The 85th entered Rome on June 5, 1944. Their next challenge was the mountain defenses of the Gothic Line. By September they had broken through and captured the town of Firenzuola in the northern Apennine mountains. The 85th advanced northward, chasing the enemy through the mountains, ridges, and valleys before reaching Mount Mezzano, which overlooked the Po River Valley, in October, 1944.

Private Elvin Cunningham was killed in action on Oct 1, 1944. He is buried in the Florence American Cemetery and Memorial, Florence, Italy (Plot A, Row 6, Grave 38). He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.

Elvin Cunningham’s brother, Private Elmer Leroy Cunningham, served in World War II in the 156nd Engineer Depot Company. He survived the war but died of illness in 1948.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smart phone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story.

SBTSProject/Washington/Columbia

Sources:

The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington), 26 Oct 1944, Thu, Page 6, https://www.newspapers.com/image/legacy/569335680/?terms=%22elvin%20cunningham%22&match=1

The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington), 27 Jul 1948, Tue, Page 17, https://www.newspapers.com/image/legacy/567904548/?terms=%22elmer%20cunningham%22&match=1

WWII Army and Army Air Force Casualty List, https://www.fold3.com/image/310763472?rec=299418799

U.S. WWII Hospital Admission Card Files, 1942-1954, https://www.fold3.com/record/706701497/cunningham-elvin-h-us-wwii-hospital-admission-card-files-1942-1954

American Battle Monuments Commission, https://www.fold3.com/record/529863368/elvin-h-cunningham-american-battle-monuments-commission

WWII Army Enlistment Records, https://www.fold3.com/record/91037995/elvin-h-cunningham-wwii-army-enlistment-records

Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56363043/elvin-henry-cunningham

1930 United States Federal Census, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/112303814:6224?tid=&pid=&queryId=b148012b19da6e787dbe21156b1c4176&_phsrc=xOR57638&_phstart=successSource

1940 United States Federal Census, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/65265785:2442

Headstone and Interment Records for U.S., Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, 1942-1949, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/5099:9170

World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/4332495:8939

World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/36893121:2238

Elvin H Cunningham