Jimmy Lee Watson, age 21, from Lucama, North Carolina, Wilson county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Wednesday, March 13, 1968
Death details: On March 13, 1968, a UH-1H Iroquois (tail number 67-17254) carrying four crew members and six passengers was conducting a round-trip logistics flight from Camp Evans to Phu Bai Air Base, South Vietnam. On the return leg, three to five miles southeast of Camp Evans, the helicopter was hit by enemy ground fire, which subsequently forced its landing. After the landing, five of the ten individuals proceeded on foot in the direction of Camp Evens and arrived safely; however, the remaining five formed a security perimeter around the downed aircraft and were immediately involved in a heavy firefight with the enemy. In a later search of the area, U.S. forces recovered the remains of two men from a shallow grave, but the other three members were missing.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jimmy Lee Watson, who joined the U.S. Army from North Carolina, served with Company A, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Division. He was the pilot of the helicopter that was forced down, and remained with the security detail at the helicopter. CW2 Watson is believed to have been killed in the subsequent enemy attack. His remains have not been recovered. After the incident, the Army promoted Chief Warrant 2 Watson to the rank of Chief Warrant Officer 3. Today, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Watson is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, findagrave.com
