Albert Watson II | |
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| Born | (1909-01-05)January 5, 1909 Mount Vernon, Illinois |
| Died | March 14, 1993(1993-03-14) (aged 84) San Antonio, Texas |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service | United States Army |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Commands | United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands United States Third Army Commandant of Berlin 24th Infantry Regiment |
| Battles / wars | World War IIKorean War |
| Awards | Army Distinguished Service Medal (2) Legion of Merit |
Albert Watson II (January 5, 1909 – March 14, 1993) was aUnited States Armylieutenant general. He participated inWorld War II and fought in a number of significant battles in thePacific Theater, including theBattle of Okinawa. From May 1961 to January 1963, Watson served asCommandant of Berlin and commanded American military forces there when construction of theBerlin Wall began. A major diplomatic incident occurred when members of Watson's staff were refused access toEast Berlin. Riots also broke out during his tenure following the death ofPeter Fechter. From 1964 to 1965, Watson filled the position of Commissioner of theUnited States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands. He increased Ryuku autonomy but ultimately spoke against the significant lessening of American administration authority in the Ryukyus. Watson received twoArmy Distinguished Service Medals during his career.
Watson was born on January 5, 1909, and grew up inMount Vernon, Illinois.[1] His father was an army colonel and his grandfather,Albert Watson, was a member of theSupreme Court of Illinois.[2] His family raised himEpiscopalian 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.[1] Both of his sons attended military schools in Pennsylvania.[2] He became reasonably fluent inGerman while serving in the country. His hobbies included playingtennis andgolf.[1] The Berlin press also noted that he enjoyedhorseback riding,bridge, light opera, andmystery novels.[3]Syracuse University holds the collection of his writings in their Special Collections Research Center.[4]
Watson graduated from theUnited 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 theUnited States Army War College. At the college he taughtstrategy,tactics, andgeopolitics.[1]
Watson participated inOperations Reckless andPersecution, theBattle of Leyte, and theBattle of Okinawa duringWorld War II.[1] He served mainly with theTenth Army inNew 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 theKorean War.[1]
Watson commanded theUnited States Third Army from 1963 to 1964.[7] He also commanded two infantry divisions stationed inWest Germany, including the24th Infantry Regiment.[1][2] Upon retiring he had reached the rank oflieutenant general.[citation needed]
Watson wasCommandant of Berlin as amajor general from May 5, 1961, to January 2, 1963.[8] In this position he fulfilled many roles, reporting to AmbassadorWalter C. Dowling in a diplomatic role, GeneralLauris Norstad in a military role, and communicated directly to theUnited States Department of State through United States mission headE. Allan Lightner Jr.[9] He received his firstArmy Distinguished Service Medal during his years as commandant.[10]
Construction of theBerlin 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 theSteinstücken 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 theSoviet Commandant of East Berlin, Soloviev. East German border guards, whose authority the United States did not recognize, denied access to his two aides and his interpreter after they did not show papers at the border despite being in an official army car and the American insistence that only Soviet officials could demand that American military show identification; this prompted Watson to turn around and send protest to the Soviets instead of meeting with them. Ironically, the meeting had in part been called to discuss the barring of an American official's entry into East Berlin less than a week earlier.[12] Watson responded by blocking Soloviev and his chief political adviser from entering the American sector.[13] A second diplomatic crisis occurred when Soviet official P. V. Signaov refused to meet with Watson over the latter's refusal to stop West German youth from throwing stones at East German buses.[14] He also dealt with thePeter Fechter incident and the riots that followed Fechters murder.[15]
Watson became Commissioner of theUnited States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands on August 1, 1964. The State Department originally intended GeneralCharles 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 receivedPrime Minister of JapanEisaku Satō, becoming the first Commissioner of the islands to meet with a Japanesehead 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 withUnited 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]
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