[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 134 (Monday, September 12, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1601]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                 TRIBUTE TO WILLIAM TAYLOR WATSON, III

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                        HON. JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR.

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 12, 2011

  Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, recently my District lost one 
of the most impressive men I have ever known.
  William Taylor Watson, III passed away on July 19, 2011. I knew Bill 
personally for many years and considered him a good friend.
  Born in Nashville and educated at Vanderbilt University, Bill's 
career as a businessman spanned 64 years and included many great 
accomplishments.
  He was a leader and expert in finances, once overseeing some of the 
largest financial portfolios in the Nation.
  Bill was also an active member of several churches, and I know his 
faith in God played a prominent role in everything he did.
  Bill always said, despite his impressive life and great career 
successes, that his family was his greatest joy. I extend my 
condolences to his wife, Mary; daughter, Mary Pierson Gibson; sons, 
William T. Watson, IV and George Fitch Watson; and brother, Robert 
Watson. I know they will miss Bill greatly.
  I have nothing but the greatest respect for any person who serves in 
the military, especially during a time of war. We use the word hero way 
too often these days, but Bill was truly an American hero.
  Following his time at Midshipman's School at Northwestern University, 
where he graduated with high honors, Bill had his pick of top positions 
in the Military. He could have chosen a career in the safety of 
Washington, D.C., working inside the Navy Department; instead, he chose 
the most dangerous job in the military--Underwater Demolition Team 
frogman, the predecessor to the Navy Seals.
  Bill's son, Bill Watson IV, recently contacted me to share this story 
as it was told in an editorial written about is father and published in 
the June 1, 1944, edition of The Sewanee Purple.
  Mr. Speaker, this piece, which is reprinted below, shows the true 
character of Bill Watson better than anything I could express, and I 
bring it to the attention of my Colleagues and other Readers of the 
Record.

                [From the Sewanee Purple, Jun. 1, 1944]

                               Editorial

      . . .  the greater therefore should our courage be.--Henry V

       On May 10th, a class of Midshipmen graduated from 
     Northwestern University Midshipman School. Its members were 
     commissioned Ensigns in the Untied States Naval Reserve. 
     William Taylor Watson, III, of Nashville, graduated fifth in 
     that class of fourteen hundred. He had attended Vanderbilt 
     University, and was stationed at Sewanee in the V-12 Unit 
     from July until November last year. To those who knew him, it 
     was not surprising that he led his class.
       At the time of his graduation, Admiral King had asked the 
     Northwestern Midshipman School for a newly commissioned 
     Ensign to take abroad his flagship, in order to see the 
     calibre of the men the Midshipman School was turning out. 
     There was a post in Washington, in the Navy Department, which 
     Northwestern was to fill--and it would take a good officer to 
     fill it. Both of those assignments were offered to Billy 
     Watson. He turned them both down. He was given his choice of 
     any assignment he wanted on active duty.
       He chose what the Navy terms ``demolition''. Only 
     volunteers are accepted for this work. It is a dirty job. The 
     men in demolition ride small rubber rafts, in through the 
     surf to the beaches, where an amphibious attack is to be 
     made. A hundred yards from shore, the demolition men start to 
     swim. They search the beaches, locating mines, clearing paths 
     through them, and destroying any explosives which would 
     interfere with a landing. Then they swim back to their little 
     rubber rafts, and paddle away--if they can.
       The choice that Watson made of course caused a good bit of 
     comment. We heard one emptyheaded fool laugh at it; to this 
     person it seemed a ludicrous choice!
       There was a bright red haze in front of us for a long time 
     afterwards. Speech came very hard, for there was no fitting 
     answer to that sort of statement. The whole vital issue of 
     the war seemed to be tied up in that little incident. On the 
     one hand, was a man who had the same high ideal that kept the 
     Spitfires flying in the battle of Britain--that kept the 
     Russian line together before Moscow--that pervaded--and kept 
     the courage up--in the soul shattering defeat in the South 
     Pacific Withdrawals.
       On the other hand--well--you name it. It doesn't print very 
     well.
       To William Watson, we can say only a part of what we feel 
     by giving him a deeply respectful and admiring salute--for 
     his nobility, his courage, and his superb action in accepting 
     his individual responsibility.

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