WWII · Battle Death Record
George Watson
Private, U.S. Army · Alabama
Medal of Honor
Personnel File — Core Information
- Name
- George Watson
- Entered the Service From
- Alabama
- Rank
- Private
- Service
- U.S. Army
- Unit / Regiment
- 2nd Battalion, 29th Quartermaster Regiment
- War
- WWII
- Date of Death
- March 8, 1943
- Awards
- Medal of Honor, Purple Heart
- Burial / Memorial
- Commemorated on the Tablets of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery and Memorial
- Grave
- Tablets of the Missing
Their story
On March 8, 1943, after the transport USAT Jacob was bombed and sunk by Japanese aircraft off Porlock Harbor, New Guinea, Private Watson remained in the water and repeatedly assisted several soldiers who could not swim to reach a life raft. Exhausted by his efforts, he was pulled under by the suction of the sinking ship and drowned; his body was never recovered. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 1997.
Compiled from American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) and National Archives (NARA) records and public sources.
This record is one of more than 200,000 in our historical archive. Some information may have been corrupted or lost over decades of data conversion. Corrections are welcome — please contact the archive.