The VLB Recognizes the Heroism of Medal of Honor Recipient Travis E. Watkins
“I don’t expect to live to be 30.” — Travis Watkins, to his intended bride, Madie Sue
The Texas Veterans Land Board salutes all the Veterans from the Korean War, but today, on the 70th anniversary of his death, we want to focus our attention on MSGT Travis E. Watkins. Watkins, a Veteran soldier at age 29, died as a hero saving a unit of 30 men from certain death during a siege in Youngsan, in what is now South Korea. He has had multiple posthumous honors, including the Medal of Honor, a Navy ship named after him, and one of our VLB Veterans Homes is also named for him.
Watkins served in the Army and had been stationed at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese launched a surprise attack and began the United States’ involvement in World War II. He had also fought in Guadalcanal, one of the bloodiest battles in the Pacific, and survived being stabbed by a Japanese soldier, from whom he took the knife and killed. For that event, he received a Purple Heart for the injury and a Bronze Star for bravery.
He returned home to Gladewater, Texas, after the war, and proposed to his sweetheart, Madie Sue Barnett, but warned her, “we won’t grow old together”. But she still married him, and they had one daughter and one on the way when he deployed to Korea in 1950.
On August 31, 1950, Watkins and his unit were cut off from the main body of their regiment by North Korean forces and were surrounded. Every officer was killed, and so MSGT Watkins took command. For four days, they were under siege and heavy fire. Watkins visited each foxhole in turn, encouraging the men and keeping them supplied as best he could. When ammunition ran out, he took careful aim and brought down two North Korean soldiers fifty yards outside the perimeter with two clean shots, then sprinted to take their ammunition and weapons back to his men.
Three North Koreans began shooting, and despite being shot, he killed all three men. He only stood 5 foot 8 and weighed 130 lbs, but he managed to carry the weapons and ammunition of all five enemy soldiers back to his foxholes.
Eventually, six of the enemy fought their way close enough to the entrenched Americans to be able to throw grenades into their foxholes. It appeared their time was up. However, Watkins leaped from his position and charged the North Koreans. They riddled him with bullets, but he kept shooting until all six were dead. His men pulled him back to safety, but he had multiple gunshot wounds and was paralyzed from the waist down.
For the following two days of harrowing battle, Watkins refused to eat, telling his men that the food should be saved for someone who could fight. When an opening occurred, which would allow the unit to escape, Watkins ordered them to leave, and cheerfully waved goodbye to them after they reloaded his rifle.
No one knows when precisely he died on that hill in Youngsan, but his men departed on September 3, 1950. MSGT Travis E. Watkins would have turned 30 on September 5th.
Watkins was awarded the Medal of Honor on February 16, 1951, and the citation stated that “through his aggressive leadership and intrepid action, this small force destroyed nearly 500 of the enemy before abandoning their position.”
In addition to the Medal of Honor, Watkins received a Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Korean Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Presidential Unit Citation, and Republic of Korea Service Medal. A housing unit at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, was named in his honor in 1961, and the naval supply vessel USNS Watkins was christened in his honor on July 28, 2000. The section of U.S. Highway 80 between Gladewater and Big Sandy, Texas, was designated the Travis E. Watkins Memorial Highway in 2012. In 2017, Texas Governor Greg Abbott posthumously awarded the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor to his great-grandson.
Most importantly to us at the Texas Veterans Land Board, though, is our very special Veterans home in Tyler, which is named the Watkins-Logan Texas State Veterans Home, for Watkins and WWII Medal of Honor recipient, James M. Logan. The Watkins-Logan Texas State Veterans Home opened in 2012 and is made up of 10 individual cottages with 10 private rooms per cottage to accommodate 100 Texas Veterans. We are always accepting applications, and you can reach the Watkins-Logan Texas State Veterans Home at 903-617-6150 or online here. Its Facebook page is located here.
We are so thankful that in Texas, there is no shortage of heroes. Our thanks go out to the family of MSGT Travis E. Watkins for his sacrifice and theirs. The Veterans Land Board salutes all those who have given of themselves or their loved ones in wartime to serve this nation and this state.
