Walter Carmel Cherry, of New Port Richey, Florida, passed this life on Wednesday, April 8th, 2015 at the age of 96.
Walter was the last surviving child of the late Walter C. Cherry and Edna Austin Cherry.
When Walter was 18 years old in December of 1936 and couldn’t find work because of the depression, he joined the United States Army in January of 1937. After basic training he was sent to Fort Shelter on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. His unit guarded Hickman Air Force Base and Pearl Harbor. He was at Schofield Barracks at Fort Shafter when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. In mid-1943, the Army transferred the unit to Northern Africa to fight the German Army under the command of General Rommel. They fought alongside the British 8th Army under the command of General Harold Alexander. Walter also fought in a major battle at Anzio, which he spoke little of. His unit landed at Anzio to establish a beachhead and to cut off the German Army 100 miles south to prevent them from retreating north past Rome. They were under assault at the beachhead for three solid months under withering cannon and machine gun fire. They broke through after these three months and captured the town and road-crossing, preventing the German Army from escaping. Walter was in the 45th Infantry Division of the Fifth Army under the command of General Mark Clark. He received an Honorable Discharge in 1945 and a thanks from a grateful Nation for his service in World War II.
When Walter returned from service in 1945, he went to work as a cab driver in Memphis, Tennessee where he worked for a few years. He was then employed by the Victor Adding Machine Company in Chicago in their Manufacturing Division. He was a Lead Foreman in the plant and retired after 30 years of service. He later drove a cab in Chicago for a few years before retiring with his wife Loretta in 1983 down to New Port Richey, Florida.
In addition to his parents, Walter is preceded in death by two wives, Alice “Polly” Hunt Cherry, and Loretta Simpson Cherry; two brothers, Austin Cherry and William J. Cherry; and three sisters, Annie Bell Lowery, Martha Vickers, and June Johnson.
He is survived by two step-children, Charles Edgar, and Sharon Ware; several step-grandchildren; and 10 nieces and nephews.
Kilgore Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.