Cullen J Mattingly

US Army

SERVED: 1943 – 1945

Location: South Pacific in New Guinea

Memory from a Loved One: 

Cullen was an 18 year old farm boy who had not been any further from home than St. Louis before he was drafted. He was inducted on September 9, 1943. He went to training in Texas before he was put on a troop ship on March 20, 1944 to the South Pacific. He was a mortar man and fought in two major battles in West New Guinea.

The Battle of Wakde-Sarmi, also known as the Battle of Lone Tree Hill, lasted from July 10, 1944 to September 10, 1944. He went on to fight in the Battle of Morotai Island, which lasted from September 15,1944 to February 1945. The US was victorious in both battles. He was awarded two bronze battle stars for these battle campaigns.

Cullen rarely talked about his war experiences before his death at age 94 on September 17, 2019.