Lewis G. Watkins

Shielding Marines during an outpost assault

Lewis George Watkins was born on 6 June 1925 in Seneca, South Carolina. He served as a staff sergeant with Company I, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division.

On 7 October 1952 in Korea, Watkins guided his platoon up a hill to retake an outpost. Although wounded, he continued leading the attack and helped suppress a machine gun. When a grenade landed among the Marines in a trench, he moved his companions aside and tried to throw it clear. The explosion killed him but saved several comrades.

Vice President Richard Nixon presented Watkins's posthumous Medal of Honor to his parents at the Marine Corps Barracks in Washington on 9 September 1953. He is commemorated on the Wall of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. His medal is held by Patriots Hall in Walhalla, South Carolina.

Medal of Honor citation

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a guide of a rifle platoon of Company I, in action against enemy aggressor forces during the hours of darkness on the morning of 7 October 1952. With his platoon assigned the mission of retaking an outpost which had been overrun by the enemy earlier in the night, S/Sgt. Watkins skillfully led his unit in the assault up the designated hill. Although painfully wounded when a well-entrenched hostile force at the crest of the hill engaged the platoon with intense small-arms and grenade fire, he gallantly continued to lead his men. Obtaining an automatic rifle from one of the wounded men, he assisted in pinning down an enemy machine gun holding up the assault. When an enemy grenade landed among S/Sgt. Watkins and several other marines while they were moving forward through a trench on the hill crest, he immediately pushed his companions aside, placed himself in a position to shield them, and picked up the deadly missile in an attempt to throw it outside the trench. Mortally wounded when the grenade exploded in his hand, S/Sgt. Watkins, by his great personal valor in the face of almost certain death, saved the lives of several of his comrades and contributed materially to the success of the mission. His extraordinary heroism, inspiring leadership, and resolute spirit of self-sacrifice reflect the highest credit upon himself and enhance the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.