Jackson sailor to be posthumously awarded Purple Heart this weekend

MILLINGTON, Tenn. — After 72 years, a sailor from Jackson will be honored with the Purple Heart on Saturday.

Seaman First Class James Cunningham will receive the Purple Heart he earned as he went down with his ship in 1945, according to the Navy Office of Community Outreach.

Cunningham was aboard the USS Eagle (PE-56) when it was hit by a German torpedo in April of 1945 off the coast of Maine.

The ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. in the auditorium of the Navy Operational Support Center Memphis, located at 7994 Hornet Avenue Building N930 in Millington.

Rear Adm. Jeff Hughes, Commander, Navy Personnel Command, will posthumously present Cunningham’s 85-year-old sister, Clara Cunningham Osborne of Knoxville, with the decoration.

We will have more on the upcoming ceremony on WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News at 10.