Bill Watson’s WWII Battle Wounds

In 1944, as the U. S. Army fought its way through France and into Germany, my Brother Sergeant William (Bill) Caswell Watson was serving with the Fifth Armored Division, 81st Tank Battalion, Company C. He was trained as a tank driver and a cook. When not serving as a cook or mess sergeant, he drove a tank or assisted in hauling ammunition.

Bill had reached England months before “D” Day, June 6, 1944. He entered France a few days after “D” Day by a beach landing between Cherbourg and Le Havre. They went south for about a hundred miles and then turned to an easterly direction. General Patton pushed his tank forces well ahead of foot and even other motorized units.

Bill assisted in getting ammunition far forward to the tanks. He was riding the back of an ammunition supply truck when the crew saw an oncoming strafing German plane. Those riding on the supply truck had time to hit the ground and scramble for cover.

The plane crossed over the truck from their right to their left as determined by their direction of travel. Bill leaped left down to a shallow ditch by the road that had a concrete liner wall. There was room for him and a friend to lie down on the bottom of the ditch. Fortunately, Bill landed in the position nearest the wall. The truck and oncoming plane were just beyond the wall from him. The wall was tall enough with him lying face down to shield his body with the exception of his buttocks area. The enemy fire exploded the ammunition on the truck. When the explosions stopped Bill tried to help his friend lying beside him. Since the shrapnel was coming in at a downward angle, his friend suffered a mass invasion of the fragments. Bill said, “It was quickly obvious that I couldn’t help him. His body was cut to pieces and he was very still and dead.” Bill got up and assisted another of the crew who was screaming that he couldn’t walk. When medics arrived they disgustedly told Bill that the man he helped carry from the scene suffered only a superficial wound of the heel. They told him that he was the one really wounded and needing help.

Bill was taken to a field hospital somewhere in France. A Jewish doctor operated on him, removing shell fragments from his back for 10 hours. He continued the surgical removal of the fragments until he judged that Bill’s life was greatly at risk. Two factors kept him from pursuing with the operation. First was the ten hours of time on the operating table, the other was the deepness of the surgery. X-rays revealed there were 92 pieces remaining in his back that were large enough to see and count.

The Jewish doctor expressed his regret that he couldn’t do more.

Bill thanked him for his good work. He felt that the doctor pushed his work to the very ultimate and also saved his life.

A few months later Bill rejoined his outfit in France and fought with it to the Elbe River which is deep in Germany. I know that he was on the Elbe River in May of 1945. The Red Cross by my request informed me of his physical location during the month of May, 1945. I was in the Westfalen area east of Dortmund, Germany at the time; and I wanted to go see him. He was about 300 miles away and out of my ability to arrange the trip.

Bill carried the 92 pieces of shrapnel for the rest of his life. He had to take an increasing amount of strong pain killers to avoid an unbearable level of pain and to sleep. There is little doubt that being wounded in battle in the service of his country shortened his life by years. We all owe Bill a debt of gratitude.

This was written by Roy C. Watson on January 4, 1994 in Jackson, Miss.