TSAGT Watson Barnes was born on July 22, 1919 and raised in Chumuckla, Santa Rosa County, Florida. He was the son of Joseph Benjamin Barnes (1880–1939) and Martha Almira "Mamie" Barrington (1889-1970). Although he was from Santa Rosa County, he lived most of his life in Pensacola. In 1920, he and his family were living in Jay, Florida where his father supported his family as a farmer. Ten years later they were in Wallace and still farming. His father passed away in 1939 and since Watson had graduated from Chumuckla High School, he went to work for the Pace Farms Inc. The following year of 1940, he was still assisting his mother as a farm laborer.
With Europe in the throes of war, all of America knew it was only a matter of time before they were going to be pulled into it just like WWI. So, Watson enlisted in the US Army on March 28, 1941, nine months before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He was assigned to the 124th Infantry Regiment of the 31st Infantry Division.
On 2 January 1944, he and his regiment took part in Operation Cartwheel, which was MacArthur's "leap-frog" plan to capture strategic points to use as forward bases while leaving others to wither on the vine. The 126th Regiment was part of the 32nd Division as they landed at Saidor on the north coast of New Guinea. There, they annihilated all enemy resistance by April 1944. Nine days later, the regiment took part in the landing at Aitape. At first, there was little push back from the Japanese but once they reached the Driniumor River things got hot and heavy. There were savage counterattacks by the enemy and causalities began to mount. In the end, the enemy forces were completely overrun and wiped out by the 31st of August. It was in this battle that TSGT Barnes would perform his duty in such a fashion that he was awarded a citation for meritorious achievement for effectively handling of casualties thus saving untold lives. By the end of the war, he had finished his duty to his country, winning two Bronze Stars, the 2nd with Oak Leaf Clusters.
After the war, he received his discharge on December 27, 1945 and went on to marry Lessie Henderson (1926-2010) two years after his return. Together, they moved to Pensacola and he went to work for the St. Regis Paper company where he retired after 39 years.
Sgt. Watson would pass away at home on Sunday, January 19, 1997 at the age of 77-years-old. He was laid to rest in the Elizabeth Chapel Cemetery, in Chumuckla, Fla., with military honors at the graveside. Lessie passed away in 2010 and joined him in death as she did in life.
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