Claude Benjeman Cuzzort was born in Seeco, Kentucky on 14 March 1921 to James Patrick Cuzzort and Virgie Pursley.
Private Claude B. Cuzzort served in Company E, 504th Parchute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne. He died 15 December 1943 during the Italian Campaign. Pvt Cuzzort was initially buried at Marzanello-Nuovo, Italy. Buried at Chattanooga National Cemetery, Y, 410.
The Chattanooga Daily Times, 26 June 1944
Pfc. Claude B. Cuzzort, husband of Mrs. Pauline Cuzzort of 3011 West Avenue, was the parachute trooper reported missing since Dec. 15. Mrs. Cuzzort was informed by the War Department yesterday. Pfc. Cuzzort is the son of Mr. and Mrs. J.P. Cuzzort, also of 3011 West Avenue, and has two brothers in service, Pfc. Marshall Cuzzort, a veteran with seven years’ service in the army, and Pvt. H.L. Cuzzort, also stationed in the Mediterranean area.
The Chattanooga Daily Times, 11 July 1945
Pfc. Harmon Cuzzort, in Chattanooga on furlough from the fighting in Europe, revealed yesterday how his mother, Mrs. J.P. Cuzzort, 2300 Long Street, had recognized in a half-page newspaper photograph another son, Pvt. Claude Cuzzort, later killed in action. “This may be a Chattanooga boy,” stated the headline over the authentic battle photograph of a wounded soldier lying on a strecher receiving treatment before being moved from the battle line to a field hospital. The picture was used in a full-page advertisement promoting the sale of war bonds during the Third War Loan and was dated Sept. 9, 1943. The advertisement was sponsored by the Chattanooga Welding and Machine Company. Although it was first published nearly a year before Pvt. Cuzzort’s death, the mother had not seen the photograph until someone called it to her attention soon after she had been informed that the son had been killed in action. The photograph, furnished to the newspaper without identification of the men pictured, was believed to have been taken when Pvt. Cuzzort received a battle wound from which he subsequently recovered.
The story was made public yesterday when the other son, Pvt. Harmon Cuzzort, came to The Times office to ask for the original photograph used in the half-page ad. He was furnished with a clipping of the picture, since the original had been discarded. Pfc. Harmon Cuzzort and a third brother, Pvt. Riley Cuzzort, are spending furloughs together with their parents at their Long Street home. A fourth son, Pvt. Marchall Cuzzort, is still serving in Germany.
Pfc. Cuzzort, with the famous First Division in the European fighting, wears insignia of a combat infantryman and has a ribbon denoting two presidential Unit Citations. He is to be here 60 days. His campaigns are Africa, Italy, Sicily, France, Belgium and Germany.
- Rank: Private
- Date of birth: 14 March 1921
- Date of death: 15 December 1943
- County: Hamilton
- Hometown: Chattanooga
- Service Branch: Army/Army Air Forces
- Division/Assignment: 504th Parchute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division
- Theater: Europe
- Conflict: World War II
- Awards: Purple Heart
- Burial/Memorial Location: Chattanooga National Cemetery, Chattanooga, TN
- Location In Memorial: Pillar XI, Middle Panel
- Contact us to sponsor Claude B. Cuzzort
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