The Wall › Panel 41E › Kentucky › William L Watson
WILLIAM L WATSON
Staff Sergeant · U.S. Army
April 24, 1938 – February 24, 1968
Service recordWilliam L Watson, of Louisville, Kentucky, served as a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on February 24, 1968, in Gia Dinh Province, South Vietnam, at age 29. His name is inscribed on Panel 41E, Line 14 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 41E · Line 14
Names are inscribed in the order of loss, starting at Panel 1E at the apex and ending at Panel 1W. At the Memorial, find the panel number at the base and count down from the top line.
Remember
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Service
- Branch
- U.S. Army
- Rank
- Staff Sergeant (SSG)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 25 INF DIV
- Born
- April 24, 1938
- Home of record
- Louisville, Kentucky (Jefferson County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 24, 1968
- Age
- 29
- Province
- Gia Dinh
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
45 names on the Wall carry the date February 24, 1968; eight of them were lost in Gia Dinh Province. In February 1968, 2,260 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 25th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 232 of its members that month.
He died in Gia Dinh Province while the Tet Offensive was under way. Beginning on the night of 30–31 January 1968, Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces attacked more than 100 cities and towns across South Vietnam, including the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. February 1968 was the deadliest month of the war for Americans.
Also on Panel 41E, Line 14
- LAURENCE JOHN HERFELLance Corporal · February 24, 1968
- LEON ELDRED WATERS JRSpecialist Four · February 24, 1968
- MORRIS ALFRED WHITEHEADSergeant · February 24, 1968
- JIMMIE DALE WHITLOCKPrivate First Class · February 24, 1968
Same unit, same day
- BRUCE JAMES DENTSpecialist Four · Panel 41E, Line 9
- LEON ELDRED WATERS JRSpecialist Four · Panel 41E, Line 14
- MORRIS ALFRED WHITEHEADSergeant · Panel 41E, Line 14
From Louisville
- FERGUS COLEMAN GROVES IICaptain · February 2, 1962
- ROBERT SHERMAN MOSIERSpecialist Five · February 10, 1965
- DON IRA WILLIAMSONColonel · October 24, 1964
- DONALD GORDON RADCLIFFMajor · August 18, 1965
- LEE ROY JAMESGunnery Sergeant · September 5, 1965
- JERRY DWAYNE UNDERWOODPrivate First Class · September 18, 1965
- GARY LOUIS DOWELLCorporal · October 27, 1965
- THOMAS EDWARD THAYER JRSergeant Major · November 8, 1965
- BOBBY LEE FAVORSSergeant · February 4, 1966
- KENNETH RUSHPrivate First Class · February 7, 1966
Source. U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Casualty Analysis System, Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File (as of April 29, 2008), Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Record Group 330, National Archives (NAID 2240992). Panel and line as recorded in that file. This page presents the official record and its historical context; no biography has been written for him yet. See something wrong? Report a correction.