Airman with Millerton ties killed in attack on U.S. servicemen

MILLERTON — The village of Millerton has joined the rest of the nation in mourning the death of 21-year-old Zachary Cuddeback, the American Air Force serviceman with local roots who was shot and killed last week in an attack on U.S. soldiers. According to CNN.com, the shooting took place on Wednesday, March 2, at the Frankfurt airport in Germany. Senior Airman Nicholas J. Alden, 25, of South Carolina, was also killed. Two others were wounded in the attack on the U.S. military bus. There has been an arrest in the case. Go to CNN.com for more information.Cuddeback, who has roots in both Missouri and Virginia, spent much time in Millerton, where his grandfather, Daniel, served as mayor some years back. His uncle, Tom, a deputy with the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office, also lives in Millerton. He said he learned of the tragedy while watching the news on the television.“It was around noontime while watching CNN,” he said. “I didn’t know who it was [they were talking about] or anything, but I knew Zac was a bus driver, so I immediately called my brother.”When asked how the whole family was coping, the answer was brief.“We’re not,” Cuddeback said.After calling his brother, Robert, who lives in Virginia, it was soon confirmed that Zac was among the victims.“Zac was a very polite young man, very outgoing,” his uncle said. “He loved playing hockey and he loved cars, of course. He was just a kid, just 21.”Millerton Mayor John Scutieri said Zac Cuddeback, like the rest of his family, was someone everyone would want to know.“He spent a lot of time here in the village,” he said. “He’s from a great family, probably the most patriotic and civic-minded family I know. They’ve got a long history of police officers and soldiers. This is just a devastating thing to happen to these people, and we all feel for them.“It hits close to home,” Scutieri added. “Everyone in the family is a good friend of mine, and you hear horrible stories like this but you never expect it to happen in a small village like ours, and for us to be affected like this. It’s just awful.”Scutieri said the flags in the village of Millerton were flown at half-mast on Thursday to honor Zac’s memory.The young airman had gravitated toward military life naturally, his uncle said, as his entire family was entrenched in military and civil service. He started basic training in 2009, a year after enrolling at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va.“His grandfather was in World War II and his father was in the Marine Corps Reserves in the mid-50s, close to the Korean conflict,” Cuddeback said. “My oldest brother, Dan, was in the Marine Corps during the Beirut bombing in 1980, and I’m the black sheep of the family as I didn’t go, though I’ve been in the sheriff’s office for 24 years, but my younger brother was in the Army for 22 years and he retired as a warrant officer 4, which is the highest enlisted position for that.”A scholarship fund to help send Zac Cuddeback’s brother to college is being created. More information will follow as it becomes available.