Lieutenant Colonel Philip A. Cuny (U.S. Army, Ret.), of Sarasota, Florida, died on May 6, 2019 at the age of 91. He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Irene, and was the son of Anne and Clifford Cuny and the brother of the late Katheryn Theriot.
Colonel Cuny was born at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C. He attended Woodrow Wilson High School in Washington, D.C., and was a graduate of the United States Military Academy (West Point) in 1951. He also received a Master Degree in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University in 1958.
Colonel Cuny served as a career Army Officer for 20 years in both overseas and stateside posts. He served with distinction in the Korean War as a Commanding Officer of 51st Signal Battalion (Corps), I Corps Group in Korea.
His Battalion provided communications between I Corps Headquarters, and two US. Divisions, and the 6th ROK Corps. During the time of the Pueblo Affair, the Battalion provided all communications to the 6th ROK Corps troops engaged in running down the North Korean troops that had infiltrated from the north into Seoul.
Colonel Cuny received many military honors and awards, including the Army Commendation Medal, Korean Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, National Defense Medal and other meritorious awards.
Following his retirement from the Army, he embarked on a second career serving for 23 years at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Washington, D.C. He worked on environmental impact studies, setting standards for radiation and designing and programming computer models and databases, while assigned to the Office of Radiation Programs Quality Assurance.
After his retirement from EPA, he and his wife, Irene, retired to Sarasota, Florida. Colonel Cuny was a dedicated sports fan, he enjoyed skiing, bicycling and hiking and was an avid reader and a devotee of classical music and the opera.
In addition to his wife, Irene, Colonel Cuny is survived by two daughters from a previous marriage, Eve Hanson and Claudette Goldberg of San Jose and San Francisco, California respectively, son-in-law, David Hanson and Stan Goldberg and grandson Spencer and granddaughter, Mariel.
Internment with full military honors will take place at the Sarasota National Cemetery to be determined at a later date.