World War II Honoree
Killed in World War II
James E. Watkins
Branch of Service
U.S. Marine Corps
Hometown
Boston, Massachusetts
Honored By
Orville L. Kline
Rank: Private First Class. Served as a Rifleman with the Second Marine Division in the Central Pacific Theater of Operations, assigned to India Company, Third Battalion and Eighth Marine Regiment. His division participated in the amphibious assault against the Imperial Japanese forces in the Battle of Tarawa. The combat engagement took place on the Island of Betio, located on the Tarawa Atoll, Gilbert Islands Code Name: Operation Galvanic. Reported missing in action, lost at sea Saturday, November 20, 1943 on the first day of the invasion. His name is permanently inscribed in the tablets of the missing, memorialized at the Honolulu National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, ‘Punchbowl’ Hawaii. This American Patriot was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously, for his ultimate sacrifice in defense of his country.