Dates: 1943-1948; n.d.

 

Biography:

William Claiborne Gunter Watson 

William Claiborne Gunter Watson was born near Columbus, Lowndes County, Mississippi, on January 27, 1917. He was the son of John Dudley and Lyda Lucille Gunter Watson. His mother died on March 4, 1920. John Dudley Watson, Sr., married his second wife, Betty Carpenter, on April 27, 1921. The Watson family, including children John Dudley, Jr. (b. November 22, 1910), Richard Lafayette (b. December 16, 1914), and Lyda Lucille (b. August 4, 1918), moved into Columbus in 1928. William Claiborne Gunter Watson moved in with his grandmother, Lucy Gray Minga Watson Swoope, in November of 1932, following the death of his step-grandfather, Lafayette Fearin Swoope, in order to assist in managing the family farm near Columbus. He graduated from Lee High School in 1935. Watson was initiated into Union Lodge No. 35, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in 1938.

Watson continued to manage the family farm until his brother, John Dudley, secured a job for him as a post-exchange manager in Florida in 1941. He was inducted into the United States Army in June of 1942. Watson completed officers candidate school and received a commission as a second lieutenant on May 24, 1943. He was assigned to Service Company, 350th Infantry, Eighty-eighth Division, Fifth Army, as a supply officer. Watson arrived in North Africa on December 28, 1943. He and his supply company were stationed in Italy by May of 1944. Watson was promoted to first lieutenant on June 27, 1944. He was killed in action on December 9, 1944, and interred at Pietramala, Italy. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. Watsons remains were returned to his family and re-interred at Friendship Cemetery in Columbus on December 14, 1948.

 
Scope and Content Note:

This collection contains correspondence, a typewritten booklet with photographs, and newsclippings collected by John Dudley Watson, Jr., of Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi. 

 

Series Identification:

Series 1: Correspondence. 1943-1947; n.d. 3 folders.

The correspondence consists of letters, postcards, and telegrams. There are letters and postcards from William Claiborne Gunter Watson to his brother, John Dudley, and sister-in-law Mary, which were received while Watson was stationed overseas during World War II. Watson expresses his thoughts on his job as a supply officer, the men in his company, and the war. There are also letters to John Dudley Watson, Jr., from various army officials relating how William Claiborne Gunter Watson died and offering condolences. Of particular interest are the typewritten letter and related photographs from the mayor of Pietramala, Italy, to Richard Lafayette Watson providing the exact location of Watson’s grave in the United States Military Cemetery at Pietramala. Also included are telegrams regarding Watson’s death and the arrival of his remains in the United States.

Box 1, folders 1-3

 

Series 2: Booklet. 1947. 1 folder.

Richard Lafayette Watson compiled the typewritten booklet as a tribute to his brother, William Claiborne Gunter Watson. He relates anecdotes about his brother and includes genealogical information on the Watson family of Lowndes County. Watson also relates stories of his service as a member of the Counter-Intelligence Corps during World War II. 

Box 1, folder 4

 

Series 3: Newsclippings. ca. 1943-1948. 1 folder.

There are transcripts of selected newspaper articles concerning the United States Senate War Investigation Committees hearings on the causalities at Rapido River, Italy, and an obituary for Lucy Gray Minga Watson Swoope. The newsclippings include a wartime letter from William Claiborne Gunter Watson to the editor of the Commercial Dispatch in Columbus, items concerning Watson's death in Italy, and his posthumous receipt of the Bronze Star.

Box 1, folder 5

 

Box List:

Box 1, folders 1-3: Correspondence, 1943-1947; n.d.

Box 1, folder 4: Booklet, 1947.

Box 1,  folder 5: Newsclippings, ca. 1943-1948.