Private First Class Walter Gilcreast Sr. / United States Army

Having grown up on his family’s Londonderry, NH farm, a property that had been in the family for generations, Walter Gilcreast was no stranger to hard work. Experience that came in handy when it became his duty to rout out Japanese soldiers secreted in the caves and tunnels of so many Pacific islands during WWII.

Gilcreast was born on March 26, 1922, one of five children. He attended school in Derry, NH. His son, Walter Gilcreast Jr. notes, “He attended school through the eighth grade – then went to work on the farm. He didn’t have a lot of formal education, but he did alright. He worked as a mechanic and as a machine operator for many years.”

Gilcreast was drafted into the Army on April 27, 1944, and became part of Company C, 389th Infantry Regiment based out of Camp Rucker, AL. According to Wikipedia, “The 389th Infantry Regiment served in both the European and Pacific theaters during World War II. They were stationed in Hawaii from April 1944 to September 1945, and then engaged in occupation duty.”

Walter Jr talked about his father’s service, “He never talked much about his military time. I do know that his unit was island-hopping across the Pacific for a while finding Japanese stragglers who were still hiding out. He also said he was building things afterward but I don’t recall what or where or why. He was a pretty quiet guy.”

Gilcreast had two brothers, one served in the Army in Italy, the other served in the Navy in the Pacific. Walter Jr notes, “The US military didn’t want to have another incident like the Sullivan brothers on their hands, so they made sure my father and his brothers did not serve together.”

(Author’s Note: The Sullivan brothers were five brothers from Waterloo, Iowa, who served together in the U.S. Navy during World War II. They were all lost when their ship, the USS Juneau, was torpedoed and sunk during the Battle of Guadalcanal on November 13, 1942. This tragedy led to the establishment of a policy against family members serving on the same ship in the Navy.)

Walter Gilcreast Sr was awarded the Good Conduct Medal and later was offered a promotion to Corporal if he would re-enlist. But he had had enough of Army life. He mustered out of the Army on February 2, 1946 at Fort Devens in Shirley, MA and settled in Nashua, NH.

Gilcreast worked as a mechanic for a time at Maffees Garage in Nashua. Later he became a machine operator for Gregg and Son Millwork in Nashua where he spent the next 25 years. Gilcreast never kept up with his Army buddies, and was not active in VFW or American Legion. He did, however, spend some time at Lenny’s Spa, a favorite bar and eatery on Nashua’s Water St. where he met the woman that would later become his wife, Dorothy Coppinger.

Walter Gilcreast Sr. retired from Gregg and Son Millwork around 1978 and passed away at the end of June 2002.

 US Service Personnel Profiles

 By Gary Ledoux April 14, 2025