Albert Watson II (January 5, 1909 – March 14, 1993) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

. He participated in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and fought in a number of significant battles in the

Pacific Theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, including the

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of ...

. From May 1961 to January 1963, Watson served as Commandant of Berlin and commanded American military forces there when construction of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...

began. A major diplomatic incident occurred when members of Watson's staff were refused access to

East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...

. Riots also broke out during his tenure following the death of

Peter Fechter Peter Fechter (14 January 1944 – 17 August 1962) was a German bricklayer who became the twenty-seventh known person to die at the Berlin Wall. Fechter was 18 years old when he was shot and killed by East German border guards while trying t ...

. From 1964 to 1965, Watson filled the position of Commissioner of the

United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands The was the civil administration government in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan (centered on Okinawa Island), replacing the United States Military Government of the Ryukyu Islands (itself created at the conclusion of World War II) in 1950, and functio ...

. He increased Ryuku autonomy but ultimately spoke against the significant lessening of American administration authority in the Ryukyus. Watson received two

Army Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. Th ...

s during his career.

Personal life

Watson was born on January 5, 1909, and grew up in

Mount Vernon, Illinois Mount Vernon is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 14,600 at the 2020 census. Mount Vernon is the principal city of the Mount Vernon Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all o ...

. His father was an army colonel and his grandfather, Albert Watson, was a member of the

Supreme Court of Illinois The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court, the highest court of the State of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the five ap ...

. His family raised him

Episcopalian Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the l ...

and he remained so throughout his life. Watson married Anne Dunlap Bucher and had two children with her: Albert Watson III and John B. Watson. Both of his sons attended military schools in Pennsylvania. He became reasonably fluent in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

while serving in the country. His hobbies included playing

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

and

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

. The Berlin press also noted that he enjoyed horseback riding,

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

, light opera, and

mystery novels Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as s ...

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

holds the collection of his writings in their Special Collections Research Center.

Military career

Watson graduated from the

United States Army Field Artillery School The United States Army Field Artillery School (USAFAS) trains Field Artillery Soldiers and Marines in tactics, techniques, and procedures for the employment of fire support systems in support of the maneuver commander. The school further develop ...

as part of the 1934–1935 class. Watson both graduated from and served as a member of the faculty at the

United States Army War College The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a U.S. Army educational institution in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate-level instruction to senior military offic ...

. At the college he taught

strategy Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "art of troop leader; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the "art ...

, tactics, and

geopolitics Geopolitics (from Greek γῆ ''gê'' "earth, land" and πολιτική ''politikḗ'' "politics") is the study of the effects of Earth's geography (human and physical) on politics and international relations. While geopolitics usually refers to ...

. Watson participated in Operations Reckless and

Persecution Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...

, the Battle of Leyte, and the

during

. He served mainly with the Tenth Army in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

. Afterward he served as the Director of Personnel Plans in the Office of Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel. He also fought in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. Watson commanded the United States Third Army from 1963 to 1964. He also commanded two infantry divisions stationed in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, including the

24th Infantry Regiment The 24th Infantry Regiment was a unit of the United States Army, active from 1869 until 1951, and since 1995. Before its original dissolution in 1951, it was primarily made up of African-American soldiers. History The 24th Infantry Regiment (o ...

. Upon retiring he had reached the rank of

Commandant of Berlin

Watson was Commandant of Berlin as a

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

from May 5, 1961, to January 2, 1963. In this position he fulfilled many roles, reporting to Ambassador Walter C. Dowling in a diplomatic role, General

Lauris Norstad Lauris Norstad (March 24, 1907 – September 12, 1988) was an American general officer in the United States Army and United States Air Force. Early life and military career Lauris Norstad was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to a Norwegian immigr ...

in a military role, and communicated directly to the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

through United States mission head E. Allan Lightner, Jr. He received his first

during his years as commandant. Construction of the

began during his tenure as commandant. In a show of defiance regarding a portion of the Wall set up there, Watson was ordered to set up a military presence in the

Steinstücken Steinstücken (, literally "Stone Pieces"), a small settlement with approximately 200 inhabitants, is the southernmost territory of the Berlin borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf, belonging to Wannsee. From the division of Germany in 1949 until a conn ...

enclave and sent continuing helicopter flights to the contested area. Tank showdowns would also take place in the wall's early years. A small diplomatic incident occurred when Watson cancelled an appointment with the Soviet Commandant of East Berlin, Soloviev. East German border guards, whose authority the United States did not recognize, denied access to his two aides and his interpreter after they did not show papers at the border despite being in an official army car and the American insistence that only Soviet officials could demand that American military show identification; this prompted Watson to turn around and send protest to the Soviets instead of meeting with them. Ironically, the meeting had in part been called to discuss the barring of an American official's entry into East Berlin less than a week earlier. Watson responded by blocking Soloviev and his chief political adviser from entering the American sector. A second diplomatic crisis occurred when Soviet official P. V. Signaov refused to meet with Watson over the latter's refusal to stop West German youth from throwing stones at East German buses. He also dealt with the

incident and the riots that followed Fechters murder.

Commissioner of the Ryukyu Islands

Watson became Commissioner of the

on August 1, 1964. The State Department originally intended General

Charles H. Bonesteel III Charles Hartwell Bonesteel III (September 26, 1909 – October 13, 1977) was an American military commander, the son of Major General Charles Hartwell Bonesteel Jr. and grandson of Major Charles H. Bonesteel Sr. (1851–1902). He served in th ...

for the role; when Bonesteel proved unable to fill the position due to failing eyesight, they offered Watson the job instead. In August 1965, Watson received

Prime Minister of Japan The prime minister of Japan (Japanese: 内閣総理大臣, Hepburn: ''Naikaku Sōri-Daijin'') is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its Ministers of Stat ...

Eisaku Satō, becoming the first Commissioner of the islands to meet with a Japanese

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...

. Watson also greatly increased the amount of aid that Japan was allowed to give to the islands far above the figures that his predecessors had allowed. He made attempts to improve relations between the American military and Ryukyu legislature. He expanded autonomy and Japanese involvement to an extent and expressed a more lenient attitude to the residents of the island chain. However, he refused to give up United States administrative rights to the island, stating that doing so would lower troop mobility and threaten national security. Despite a promising start, Watson continued the trend of his predecessor and practiced a tumultuous relationship with United States Ambassador to Japan,

Edwin O. Reischauer Edwin Oldfather Reischauer (; October 15, 1910 – September 1, 1990) was an American diplomat, educator, and professor at Harvard University. Born in Tokyo to American educational missionaries, he became a leading scholar of the history and cul ...

. The two accused each other of keeping the other out of the loop and breaking agreements. He received a second Army Distinguished Service Medal at the end of his term as commissioner.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Albert, II 1909 births 1993 deaths United States Army generals People from Mount Vernon, Illinois United States Army War College alumni United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army personnel of the Korean War 24th Infantry Regiment Cold War diplomats Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Okinawa under United States occupation United States Armed Forces in Okinawa Prefecture 20th-century American Episcopalians Military personnel from Illinois