Ruckle L. Gautreaux served on the USS West Virginia from 1944 through 1945. Upon the conclusion of the war, he returned to his home town of Gonzales, Louisiana where he married the former Lula C. Braud. The two raised four children. He made his living in the Petro / Chemical Industry and retired in 1986 as an Instrument Technician.  He was close friends with shipmate Paul Thompson.