Rank: Private
Branch: U.S. Marine Corps Reserve
Unit: 2d Battalion, 9th Marines, 3d Marine Division
Place: Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands
Entered Service At: Arkansas
Born: 18 February 1921, Tuscumbia, Alabama
Summary of Action
On the brutal volcanic slopes of Iwo Jima, Private Wilson Douglas Watson served as an automatic rifleman when his squad was abruptly halted by devastating fire from Japanese fortifications dug into the rocky ridges ahead.
Watson did not wait for orders.
He charged a pillbox alone, firing directly into the embrasure to pin the enemy down. Holding them in place with relentless fire, he maneuvered close enough to hurl a grenade inside. Then he sprinted to the rear of the position and cut down the retreating Japanese, allowing his platoon to advance and seize its objective.
Moments later, his unit was pinned again at the base of a jagged hill swept by mortar and machine-gun fire.
Watson scaled the steep incline under the barrage.
Reaching the crest with his assistant BAR man, he charged forward firing from the hip. Japanese troops counterattacked from the reverse slope with grenades and knee mortars. Standing upright in an exposed position, Watson poured automatic fire into the enemy entrenchments.
For fifteen relentless minutes, he held the hill.
He killed sixty Japanese soldiers before his ammunition was exhausted — buying the time his platoon needed to reach and reinforce him.
His fearless initiative and ferocious determination broke the enemy’s resistance and enabled the continued advance of his unit during one of the most bitterly contested battles of the Pacific War.
Medal of Honor Citation
WATSON, WILSON DOUGLAS
Rank and organization: Private, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, 2d Battalion, 9th Marines, 3d Marine Division.
Place and date: Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, 26 and 27 February 1945.
Entered service at: Arkansas.
Born: 18 February 1921, Tuscumbia, Ala.
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 1 pillbox and fired into the embrasure with his weapon, keeping the enemy pinned down single-handedly 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 machinegun 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.
