Albert Watson II

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Albert Watson II
Commandant of Berlin
24th Infantry Regiment
Battles / warsWorld War II
Army Distinguished Service Medal (2)
Legion of Merit

Albert Watson II (January 5, 1909 – March 14, 1993) was a

Army Distinguished Service Medals
during his career.

Personal life

Watson was born on January 5, 1909, and grew up in Mount Vernon, Illinois.[1] His father was an army colonel and his grandfather, Albert Watson, was a member of the Supreme Court of Illinois.[2] His family raised him Episcopalian and he remained so throughout his life.[2]

Watson married Anne Dunlap Bucher and had two children with her: Albert Watson III and John B. Watson.

horseback riding, bridge, light opera, and mystery novels.[3] Syracuse University holds the collection of his writings in their Special Collections Research Center.[4]

Military career

Watson graduated from the United States Army Field Artillery School as part of the 1934–1935 class.[5] Watson both graduated from and served as a member of the faculty at the United States Army War College. At the college he taught strategy, tactics, and geopolitics.[1]

Watson participated in

Persecution, the Battle of Leyte, and the Battle of Okinawa during World War II.[1] He served mainly with the Tenth Army in New Guinea.[2] Afterward he served as the Director of Personnel Plans in the Office of Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel.[6] He also fought in the Korean War.[1]

Watson commanded the United States Third Army from 1963 to 1964.[7] He also commanded two infantry divisions stationed in West Germany, including the 24th Infantry Regiment.[1][2] Upon retiring he had reached the rank of lieutenant general.[citation needed]

Commandant of Berlin

Watson was

Army Distinguished Service Medal during his years as commandant.[10]

Construction of the Berlin Wall began during his tenure as commandant. In a show of defiance regarding a portion of the Wall set up there, Watson was ordered to set up a military presence in the Steinstücken enclave and sent continuing helicopter flights to the contested area. Tank showdowns would also take place in the wall's early years.[11]

A small diplomatic incident occurred when Watson cancelled an appointment with the

Peter Fechter incident and the riots that followed Fechters murder.[15]

Commissioner of the Ryukyu Islands

Watson became Commissioner of the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands on August 1, 1964. The State Department originally intended General Charles H. Bonesteel III for the role; when Bonesteel proved unable to fill the position due to failing eyesight, they offered Watson the job instead.[16]

In August 1965, Watson received Prime Minister of Japan Eisaku Satō, becoming the first Commissioner of the islands to meet with a Japanese head of government.[17] Watson also greatly increased the amount of aid that Japan was allowed to give to the islands far above the figures that his predecessors had allowed.[18] He made attempts to improve relations between the American military and Ryukyu legislature.[19] He expanded autonomy and Japanese involvement to an extent and expressed a more lenient attitude to the residents of the island chain.[20] However, he refused to give up United States administrative rights to the island, stating that doing so would lower troop mobility and threaten national security.[20]

Despite a promising start, Watson continued the trend of his predecessor and practiced a tumultuous relationship with

United States Ambassador to Japan, Edwin O. Reischauer. The two accused each other of keeping the other out of the loop and breaking agreements.[18] He received a second Army Distinguished Service Medal at the end of his term as commissioner.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Associated Press (12 October 1961). "U.S. Berlin Army Boss Has Poise, Likes Poetry". Sarasota Journal. Sarasota, Florida. Lindsay Newspapers. p. 35. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Flora (1 April 1962). "Berlin Commandant: Maj. Gen. Albert Watson 2d Has What May be the Most Critical General's Job in the Army". The New York Times. New York City. The New York Times Company. p. 211.
  3. ISBN 978-0-399-15729-5
    . Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  4. ^ "Albert Watson II Papers". Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University. 2011. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  5. Fort Sill, Oklahoma
    : US Field Artillery Association: 388. July–August 1935. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  6. ^ The Judge Advocate General's School 1951–1961 (PDF). Charlottesville, Virginia: The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School. 1961. p. 90. Archived from the original on 8 May 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2011.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. ^ "Commanding Generals". United States Army Central. 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  8. ISBN 0-8147-3133-3
    . Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  9. ISBN 978-0-16-075369-5
    . Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  10. ^
    Gannett Government Media. 2011. Archived
    from the original on 6 September 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  11. ISBN 978-0-7425-6090-1
    . Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  12. Journal Communications. p. 60. Retrieved 8 September 2011.[permanent dead link
    ‍]
  13. ^ Associated Press (30 January 1962). "Briton Offers Berlin Plan". The Register-Guard. Eugene, Oregon. Guard Publishing. p. 2. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  14. St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Florida. Times Publishing Company
    . 22 August 1962. p. 7. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  15. Journal Communications. 21 August 1962. p. 20. Retrieved 8 September 2011.[permanent dead link
    ‍]
  16. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968. Vol. XXIX, Part 2. Washington, D.C.: Office of the Historian
    . Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  17. Pittsburgh Press. Pittsburgh. E. W. Scripps Company
    . p. 10. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  18. ^
    ISBN 0-89096-969-8
    . Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  19. ^ "U.S. Chief Seeks Ryukyus' Backing". The New York Times. New York City. The New York Times Company. 12 August 1964. p. 14.
  20. ^
    JSTOR 2642234
    .
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