Wilson Douglas Watson

On Iwo Jima, one Marine broke two fortified enemy positions.

Wilson Douglas Watson was a private in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and an automatic rifleman in Company G, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines, 3rd Marine Division. After enlisting in August 1942, he deployed to the Pacific and fought at Bougainville in 1943 and Guam in 1944.

On 26 February 1945, a Japanese pillbox halted his squad on Iwo Jima. Watson fired into its opening, threw a grenade, and attacked the defenders as they withdrew, allowing his platoon to advance. The following day, he and his assistant rifleman charged a defended hill through mortar and machine-gun fire. Watson held an exposed position against counterattacks for about 15 minutes until his platoon reached him. These two actions earned him the Medal of Honor.

Seriously wounded on 2 March, Watson was evacuated from Iwo Jima. President Harry S. Truman presented his Medal of Honor at the White House on 5 October 1945. After discharge from the Marines in 1946, Watson enlisted in the U.S. Army, served during the Korean War, and retired in 1966 as a staff sergeant. He died on 19 December 1994. The Army rank shown on this profile is his highest attained rank; he was a Marine private during the cited action.

Medal of Honor citation

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as automatic rifleman serving with the 2d Battalion, 9th Marines, 3d Marine Division, during action against enemy Japanese forces on Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, 26 and 27 February 1945. With his squad abruptly halted by intense fire from enemy fortifications in the high rocky ridges and crags commanding the line of advance, Pvt. Watson boldly rushed one pillbox and fired into the embrasure with his weapon, keeping the enemy pinned down singlehandedly until he was in a position to hurl in a grenade and then running to the rear of the emplacement to destroy the retreating Japanese and enable his platoon to take its objective. Again pinned down at the foot of a small hill, he dauntlessly scaled the jagged incline under fierce mortar and machine-gun barrages and, with his assistant BAR man, charged the crest of the hill, firing from his hip. Fighting furiously against Japanese troops attacking with grenades and knee mortars from the reverse slope, he stood fearlessly erect in his exposed position to cover the hostile entrenchments and held the hill under savage fire for 15 minutes, killing 60 Japanese before his ammunition was exhausted and his platoon was able to join him. His courageous initiative and valiant fighting spirit against devastating odds were directly responsible for the continued advance of his platoon, and his inspiring leadership throughout this bitterly fought action reflects the highest credit upon Pvt. Watson and the U.S. Naval Service.