Medal of Honor Monday: Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Lewis G. Watkins

View Online Medal of Honor Monday: Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Lewis G. Watkins Oct. 7, 2024 | By Katie Lange Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Lewis George Watkins served his country in the Navy during World War II, but when the Korean War began, he felt he still needed to do more. After rejoining the military as a Marine, he gave his life to save others during battle in 1952. For his leadership and self-sacrifice, the Medal of Honor was posthumously bestowed upon him.  Watkins was born June 6, 1925, in Seneca, South Carolina, to Pauline and Fred Watkins, a World War I veteran. Lewis had eight siblings, and they all grew up on a farm.   Watkins, whose nickname was Slim, dropped out of high school to join the Navy during World War II, according to the Anderson Independent-Mail, an Anderson, South Carolina, newspaper. He survived the war, but his brother, Frank, did not. Frank Watkins died of tuberculosis after coming home from a prisoner-of-war camp.   After Lewis Watkins returned home, there weren't many jobs available to him, so he decided to get his General Education Diploma. Watkins earned it through Greenville High School in 1949 before joining the Greenville Police Department. However, in September 1950, shortly after the Korean War broke out, he took a leave of absence to join the Marine Corps. Watkins told his family he wanted to do his part.   "We did not try to stop him, but we did not understand why he wanted to go ," his sister, Lois Green, told the Anderson Independent-Mail in 2001. "We thought he did his part for four years in the Navy."   After basic training, Watkins served at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and Camp Pendleton, California, before his unit — the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division — was sent to Korea.   In early October 1952, the 1st Marine Division took part in what was known as the First Battle of the Hook, which was fought over several frontline outposts. In the early-morning hours of Oct. 7, Watkins was serving as the guide of a rifle platoon for Company I, which was tasked with retaking an outpost that had been overrun by the enemy earlier in the night.   Watkins skillfully led his platoon up the designated hill, but at its crest, a well-entrenched enemy force attacked using small-arms fire and grenades. Watkins suffered serious injuries, but he continued to lead his men despite the pain. At one point, he grabbed an automatic rifle from another wounded man to help pin down an enemy machine gun that was holding up the assault.   When the team tried to move through a trench, an enemy grenade landed among them. Watkins didn't hesitate. He pushed his fellow Marines aside to shield them from the explosive device, then picked it up to try to throw it away.   Time ran out before he could. The grenade exploded in Watkins' hand, mortally wounding him. His selflessness, however, saved the lives of several of his comrades and contributed to the success of the mission.   That heroism led Watkins to posthumously receive the Medal of Honor. Vice President Richard M. Nixon bestowed the high honor upon his parents on Sept. 9, 1953, during a ceremony at Marine Corps Barracks in Washington, D.C.   "Lewis Watkins is the epitome of a patriot," Jerry Dyar, an Oconee County Department of Veterans Affairs officer, told the Anderson Independence-Mail in 2001. "I don't know anyone who would have gone through the rigors of World War II, fulfilled their obligation to their country and still answered the call again. You don't see uncommon valor and service like that."   Watkins' parents donated his medal to the Oconee Military Museum in Walhalla, South Carolina.  Watkins' remains were not recovered. He is listed on the Wall of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.   His name is remembered in the places where he lived and served. At Camp Lejeune in August 1977, housing known as Watkins Village was dedicated in his honor. A memorial plaque honoring him hangs in the Greenville Police Department's headquarters, while a post office in Watkins' hometown was renamed for him in 2007.  This article is part of a weekly series called "Medal of Honor Monday," in which we highlight one of the more than 3,500 Medal of Honor recipients who have received the U.S. military's highest medal for valor. More Stories of Valor   Experience: The Highest Awards for Valor

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