♠ 27th Marines, 5th Marine Division Corpsman Herbert Coleman Watson’s World War II Blue Wool & Summer White Pharmacist Mate First Class Jumpers.
♠ Herbert was born and raised in Michigan. The son of a Fruit Farmer and later Emergency worker in the Tree Planting industry, Herbert was working as a Metal Finisher at G.M.C. Cadillac Motor when, on January 23, 1942, shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he volunteered for active service in the Navy.
♠ Herbert was trained to become a Hospital Apprentice and then a Pharmacist Mate at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Illinois and the United States Naval Hospital in Chelsea, Massachusetts.
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In July 1943, as a Corpsman, Herbert began parachute training with Company "B" at the Marines Parachute Training School in Camp Gillespie, San Diego, California. He would train with the Paramarines, whose job was to parachute into combat. By October 1943, Herbert's training was completed, and he was attached as a Paramarine Corpsman to Headquarters Company, 4th Parachute Battalion, 4th Marines. ♠ Herbert would train with the Headquarters and Service and Weapons Company, 27th Marines, 5th Marine Division at Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, California, until embarking on the U.S.S. George F. Elliot on August 12, 1944, and arriving at Hilo, Hawaii, located on the northeastern side of Hawaii.
♠ On Iwo Jima D-Day, February 19, 1945, Herbert and the 27th Marines landed on Red 1 and Red 2 beachheads. ♠ During the bloody fighting in February, Herbert performed a heroic act. Without regard for his own life, he went to the aid of several Marines near the front lines and carried them to safety during enemy mortar bombardment and proceeded to treat their wounds. ♠ Herbert would be awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Combat Valor for this Heroic Service.
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Herbert participated in action against Japanese forces on Iwo Jima until March 22, 1945, when he boarded the U.S.S. Storm King and sailed for Hawaii.
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