Frank Josef Cuhel (September 28, 1904 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa – February 22, 1943 in Lisbon,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

) was an American athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metre hurdles. At his alma mater

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

, Cuhel was a three-year letterman, playing football in addition to track. In 1928 he won the 220 yd hurdles at the

NCAA championships The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

, breaking the meeting record. He was elected to the U of I Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993.National Iowa Varsity Club – Letterwinner
at www.iowavarsityclub.com He competed for the United States in the 1928 Summer Olympics held in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in the 400 metre hurdles where he won the silver medal. His success in the Olympics was such that upon graduation he took up work as a business envoy for a number of Dutch firms doing business in America. Eventually this business sent him to

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, which is where he found himself at the start of World War II. As the islands became a more important strategic theater for World War II operations, Cuhel was hired by Mutual Broadcasting Systems to serve as a war correspondent, issuing radio reports of any action or newsworthy items. When Java fell to the Japanese, Cuhel and other correspondents made a daring last minute escape. Cuhel was killed in the crash of the ill-fated

Boeing 314 The Boeing 314 Clipper was an American long-range flying boat produced by Boeing from 1938 to 1941. One of the largest aircraft of its time, it had the range to cross the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. For its wing, Boeing re-used the design from ...

called ''Yankee Clipper'' into the

Tagus River The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections, to ...

on the outskirts of Lisbon,

on February 22, 1943 (the same flight which badly injured

Jane Froman Ellen Jane Froman (November 10, 1907 – April 22, 1980) was an American actress and singer. During her thirty-year career, she performed on stage, radio and television despite chronic health problems due to injuries sustained in a 1943 plane cra ...

and served as the climax to her biopic '' With A Song In My Heart''). That December, a freighter was christened the ''Frank J. Cuhel'' in his honor.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cuhel, Frank American male hurdlers Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field Athletes (track and field) at the 1928 Summer Olympics 1904 births 1943 deaths Sportspeople from Cedar Rapids, Iowa Players of American football from Iowa Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Portugal Iowa Hawkeyes football players Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics American civilians killed in World War II Journalists killed while covering World War II Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1943