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Remember...Robert Palmer Cady
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Robert Palmer Cady was born on December 6, 1923, to Stanton H. and Lulu Cady in Pennsylvania. The 1940 Federal Census taker recorded that the family was living in Morgantown. Robert had several brothers and sisters, including Stanton Jr., Edward, Ruth, Raymond, William, Angie, and Richard. Mr. Cady was a teacher, Stanton Jr. was a clerk, and William was a newsboy.
In 1941, Robert Cady's name appeared in the yearbook of Morgantown High School, The Mohigan. Robert Cady was a junior in high school at that time. Though his photo didn't appear, his name was listed among other juniors with a list of their desires and ambitions. In response to the request for desire and ambitions, Robert Cady said that his desire was to "serve the country" and his ambition was to be an "air pilot." According to a relative, he was already achieving at least one of those goals. He was said to have been serving since 1939, according to a relative, at the time of his death. ("Morgantown Flier Killed in Crash," The Evening Standard [Uniontown, PA], 26 October 1942.) Though the article didn't say, perhaps, at that age and still in high school, Robert Cady had been in the Junior ROTC.
According to military records, Robert Cady joined the West Virginia National Guard on May 15, 1940, and the U.S. Army Air Corps on July 2, 1941. By 1942, he was serving near Blythe, California, placed with the 51st Bombardier Squadron, 46th Bombardier Group, U.S. Army Air Corps. At the time, there was an Army air base located there and a private air academy, contracted by the Air Corps, to provide training early in the war. ("Blythe Army Air Field," Historic California Posts, Camps, Stations and Airfields, updated 23 June 2017, accessed 27 June 2020, http://www.militarymuseum.org/BlytheAAF.html.)
Research did not reveal exactly the circumstances of the airplane crash that resulted in Robert Cady's death, but he did die on October 24, 1942. According
to the Morgantown Post, his burial was conducted in Morgantown on November 3, 1942. ("Corp. Robert P. Cady," 2 November 1942.)
| Articles appeared in Pennsylvania newspapers announcing the death as an airplane accident. Robert Cady was buried in East Oak Grove Cemetery in Morgantown, West Virginia. |  Grave marker for Cpl. Robert P. Cady in East Oak Grove Cemetery. Courtesy Cynthia Mullens |
Article prepared by Cynthia Mullens
November 2020
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.
