TFH 3/8: Private George Watson, USA

George Watson was born in 1915 in Birmingham, Alabama. He graduated from Colorado A&M, today Colorado State University, in 1942 and on September 1 of that year enlisted in the United States Army to serve his country during World War II.

African-American soldiers during World War II faced a segregated Army, just as they faced a segregated society. As was true with many African-American soldiers, Watson was assigned to a support unit, the 29th Quartermaster Regiment. Watson was aboard the requisitioned Dutch ship SS s'Jacob when the ship was bombed by the Japanese in Porloch Bay, New Guinea on March 8, 1943. He gave his life trying to save his fellow soldiers in the water and was, at the time, awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

In the late 1990s, the service records of minority DSC recipients from World War II were reviewed to determine if racial prejudice and discrimination had precluded the award of the Medal of Honor. On January 13, 1997, Watson's heroism received the recognition it truly deserved from President Clinton at the White House.

From Medal of Honor Citations for World War II (T-Z):

*WATSON, GEORGE

Citation: For extraordinary heroism in action on 8 March 1943. Private Watson was on board a ship which was attacked and hit by enemy bombers. When the ship was abandoned, Private Watson, instead of seeking to save himself, remained in the water assisting several soldiers who could not swim to reach the safety of the raft. This heroic action, which subsequently cost him his life, resulted in the saving of several of his comrades. Weakened by his exertions, he was dragged down by the suction of the sinking ship and was drowned. Private Watson's extraordinarily valorous actions, daring leadership, and self-sacrificing devotion to his fellow-man exemplify the finest traditions of military service.

George Watson rests with the wreck of the s'Jacob in Porloch Harbor.

At the time Private Watson's decoration was upgraded to the Medal of Honor in 1997, he had no known descendants or living family. His Medal is held in trust by the U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum at Fort Lee, Virginia where it helps to recognize and thank all those who have kept our warriors on the battlefield supplied with bread, blood, and bullets.

The descendant of the 29th Quartermaster Regiment, the 29th Support Group, was last inactivated by the Army in 2008.

Since June 23, 1998, the Military Sealift Command's USNS Watson (T-AKR-310), named for today's TFH honoree, has plied the seas transporting equipment for today's warriors of the United States Army and United States Marine Corps. The Watson is the lead ship of her class of eight vehicle cargo ships, officially "Light, Medium-Speed, Roll-on/roll-off" ships, or LMSRs.