Remembering World War II

Hugh William Lockhart

Name: Hugh William Lockhart Rank: Private Service Number: 31222178 Service: 172nd Infantry Regiment, 43rd Infantry Division, US Army Awards: Purple Heart Date of Birth: May 14, 1918 Place of Birth: Hants Co., NS Date of Enlistment: November 4, 1942 Place of Enlistment: Bangor, Maine Address at Enlistment: Fort Fairfield, Aroostook Co., Maine Age at Enlistment: 24 Height: 6 feet, 1 inch Occupation: Financial institution (bank) clerk Marital Status: Single Date of Death: July 18, 1943 Age: 25 Cemetery: Manila American Cemetery, Philippines Grave: Plot D, Row 7, Grave 1 Hugh William Lockhart was the son of Arthur George Lockhart (1887-1961) and Ethel May ‘Emma’ Smith (1887-1985). His father was born in Falmouth, Hants Co., NS; his mother – in Windsor, Hants Co., NS. He had two brothers Roy Smith (1916-2008), Charles Jesse (1920-2008) and three sisters, Beatrice Ruth (1914- 1916), Claire Harriett (1921-2004) and Joyce Winnifred (1926-2020). Some records indicate Hugh was born in Hants Co.; others indicate he was born in Edmundston, New Brunswick, where the family was living prior to moving to Maine in November of 1918. Hugh and his family immigrated to the United States in 1918. His brother Charles enlisted February 24, 1941, during WWII in Maine at Fort Fairfield in the Field Artillery, National Guard (Service No. 20146898). Private Hugh William Lockhart was assigned to the 172nd Infantry Regiment, of the 443rd Division. The 172nd Regiment was organised as a Regimental Combat Team for service in the Pacific. The 172nd almost saw disaster at Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides on October 26, 1942, when its troop transport, the liner SS President Coolidge, struck two US mines in the harbour. The captain, realizing that the ship was lost, attempted to run it aground so that the troops could disembark. The ship sank, but the regiment got ashore with few casualties, to fight in the New Georgia Campaign, including during the drive on Munda Point on the island of New Georgia in the Solomon Islands. With the 172nd Regiment, Private Lockhart would have taken part in the drive to Munda Point offensive which took place from July 2 to 17, 1943. Subsequent to this push, the Capture of Munda Point took place from July 22 to August 4, 1943. Hugh Lockhart was hospitalized with a gun shot wound in the Solomons in July 1943, and was killed in action July 18th. A second known Nova Scotia-born US Army soldier, Sergeant James Nelson Cook of Truro, also served with the 172nd Infantry Regiment in the Solomon Islands and died in the drive to Munda Point on July 27, 1943. Private Hugh William Lockhart was initially interred at the USAF Cemetery, Finschhafen #3, in ‘British New Guinea’ (designated as temporary cemetery 6912), and re interred with grave consolidation at Manila American Cemetery. Manila American Cemetery is the largest of all American overseas cemeteries occupying over 150 acres on a prominent plateau, with a breathtaking view of the Manila skyline. Here rests more than 17000 American servicemen and women, most lost their lives in the Philippines and New Guinea in WWII, but over a dozen campaigns across the Pacific are represented there.

Sources: American Battle Monuments Commission – Hugh William Lockhart honorstates.org findagrave