Army PFC Robert Dalton Watts was born on October 23, 1914 in Bluff Springs, Florida, the son of Thomas Jefferson Watts (1885-1968) and Eldora "Dora" Layada Coleman (1891-1972) of Bluff Springs. His father began his adult life in Pensacola before marrying and moving north to Canoe near Atmore in 1911. There he was a farmer, the vocation he would spend his whole life doing. By 1930, the Watts family and come south to Century and five years later were farming in Bluff Springs. By 1940, Robert had obtained employment driving a tractor in President Roosevelt's CCC program initiated during the Great Depression.
Then came WWII, and Robert enlisted in the US Army on January 10, 1942 and was sent to Camp Blanding, Florida for processing. He volunteered for the new airborne units being assembled and trained in the U.S. He was assigned to the 194th Glider Infantry Regiment at Camp Mackall, NC under the command of the 17th Airborne Division. When all was ready, the regiment set sail for England arriving at Camp Chisledon on August 28, 1944. In December, the division was hurried to Bastogne during the famous Battle of the Bulge with Robert's regiment being sent to Morhet where the fighting was intense. After weeks of horrendous combat, they were given a respite on February 11, 1945 and began preparing for "Operation Varsity." The upcoming operation was a strategic plan to gain a foothold by landing two airborne divisions on the eastern bank of the Rhine River where the town of Wesel was the target for the 194th Regiment.
The assault began on March 24th with the incoming gliders and their tow planes taking heavy casualties. Twelve C-47 transports were lost to AA fire with 140 others damaged. Landing in the middle of a German artillery battery, the enemy began firing directly into the disembarking Americans. However, the regiment was victorious having destroyed 42 artillery pieces, 10 enemy tanks, 7 self-propelled guns, and took over 1,000 German prisoners. Sadly, Robert did not survive the day and was killed in action in the fighting. He is buried today in the Margraten Cemetery in Holland while his family rests in Pensacola's Byrneville Methodist Church Cemetery.
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