John Cashman (died July 31, 1945) was an American war correspondent for the

International News Service The International News Service (INS) was a U.S.-based news agency (newswire) founded by newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst in 1909.

who covered the Pacific theatre during World War II. He was killed in an aircraft accident on

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

on July 31, 1945.

Biography

The son of Mrs. Mary M. Cashman. of 87-51 86th Street,

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, New York, John Cashman graduated high school at Richmond Hill High School in 1935. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy immediately for a four-year term, and spent two years in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, where, though still attached to the Navy, he wrote a sports column covering Navy boxing matches for the ''Shanghai Globe-Mercury''. Cashman was on the crew of the USS ''Augusta'', then flagship of the

Asiatic Fleet The United States Asiatic Fleet was a fleet of the United States Navy during much of the first half of the 20th century. Before World War II, the fleet patrolled the Philippine Islands. Much of the fleet was destroyed by the Japanese by Februar ...

, the vessel on which

President Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

sailed to

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

. Cashman's enlistment expired in 1939, but he reenlisted in 1942. "In May of that year he lost his left arm as a result of an ammunition explosion while he was on sea duty in the Atlantic, and was honorably discharged in December 1942."Staff, "Queens Writer Killed When Plane Explodes", ''Long Island Star-Journal'',

Long Island City Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of Queens, a borough in New York City. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to the ...

, New York, Thursday August 2, 1945, page 11. His arm was amputated from severe wounds he received when a gun misfired. "It was while recovering from the amputation in his New York home that he decided to do something about his desire to be a journalist." He then became a sports writer for the

International News Service The International News Service (INS) was a U.S.-based news agency (newswire) founded by newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst in 1909.

, hoping to go back to war in the role of a correspondent. He was sent to

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

in February 1945 and then to

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, where he volunteered to accompany a regiment into battle in the

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

invasion, he covered the Australian invasion of Balikpapen successfully.

Death

While returning to his INS headquarters on Guam from Borneo, he had reached

on July 30, 1945. On July 31, the

Consolidated B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

he was aboard crashed and exploded on takeoff, killing Cashman, 27, and the crew of eight. A military funeral with honoursStaff correspondent, "Newsman Dies In Bomber Crash", ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', Sydney, Australia, Friday August 4, 1945, 115th Year, Number 33,576, page 1. attended by high-ranking Naval officers was held on Okinawa for Cashman on August 1, 1945. Cashman was the 17th war correspondent killed in the Pacific theater.

Family

At the time of Cashman's death, he had two brothers serving in the U.S. Navy, Ensign George A. Cashman, 22, commander of a minesweeper off of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, and Robert, 23, an aviation machinist's mate first class, who was in the Pacific for 20 months, but now assigned at

Naval Air Station Kingsville Naval Air Station Kingsville or NAS Kingsville (NASK) is a United States Navy Naval Air Station located approximately 3 miles east of Kingsville, Texas in Kleberg County. NAS Kingsville is under the jurisdiction of Navy Region Southeast and is t ...

, Texas. He was also survived by two sisters, both wives of Naval lieutenants, Mrs. Sumner Thompson, of Wollaston, Massachusetts, and Mrs. Vernice Cheek, of

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, California.

Commemoration

Cashman is one of over a dozen UP,

INS INS or Ins or ''variant'', may refer to: Places * Ins, Switzerland, a municipality * Creech Air Force Base (IATA airport code INS) * Indonesia, ITF and UNDP code INS Biology *'' Ins'', a New World genus of bee flies * INS, the gene for the insul ...

and UPI journalists' names included on a Freedom Forum Journalists Memorial dedicated in Arlington, Virginia, in May 1996.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cashman, John 1945 deaths American amputees American civilians killed in World War II American male journalists American newspaper reporters and correspondents American war correspondents of World War II Journalists killed while covering World War II United States Navy personnel killed in World War II United States Navy sailors