Published Saturday, July 12, 2008

Watson went from Senoia farm to Pacific with Navy in WWII

The Times-Herald

When World War II started, Olin Watson expected to be drafted. But he didn't know what to expect once he entered the service.

He wasn't too worried, though. He figured the hardships he had endured growing up on a farm near Senoia had prepared him for anything.

"Lots of folks said the service was hard," he says. "It was different, but it was still about working hard and getting along; and to tell the truth, it was a great experience. I'm glad I went."

Watson was born in Meriwether County and moved to Senoia when he was a child. The family sharecropped cotton, corn and whatever else it took to feed Watson and his 15 brothers and sisters.

Times were tough, but Watson says his parents had their priorities straight. The family kept a share of the food they grew and received a cash allowance of $15 per month. Watson says the first ten percent of every cash payment went to the church. The remaining $13.50 purchased things the family couldn't grow, make or mend themselves.

"Back then you learned how to stretch a dollar," he says. "We didn't have a lot but we always had what we needed."

Watson and his siblings spent most of their waking hours in the fields or tending the livestock.

"There wasn't any choice," he says. "If you wanted meat, you took care of the hogs and chickens. If you wanted butter and milk you took care of the cows. That's all there was to it."

When work was slow the children attended the Rolling Wall School, which is now gone but once stood near the intersection of state highways 16 and 85 in Senoia.

When he turned 18 in May, 1942, Watson was drafted and went to Newnan to sign up. A few days later, he received a letter telling him to take a bus to the Navy recruiting station in Columbus. Watson complied and was sworn into the Navy.

So many new recruits were entering the service that Watson was sent home and told to wait until there was a place for him in the training schedule.

Watson farmed for almost two more years before the Navy told him to report for duty. By that time he had fallen in love with a young lady from Meriwether County named Tommie Johnson. Once Watson knew he was headed for war, he and Tommie headed for the altar.

They were married on June 20, 1944. Three days later, Watson was on the way to the Great Lakes Naval Training Station near Chicago. He joined an all-black unit and set about learning the basics of military life. The Normandy invasion had happened just weeks earlier and the reality of war was on everyone's mind.

"When I was leaving home we heard all about what was going on in Germany and I knew there was lots of killing over there," Watson says. "I didn't know where I'd be going, and for a while I was a little scared."

After a few weeks of military life, Watson felt right at home.

"We marched and drilled and learned how to follow orders and got to town a couple of times," he says. "But there wasn't a problem, and most of us did just fine."

From Great lakes, Watson went to Norfolk, Va. for further training on large landing craft called LSTs that carried troops and supplies into battle. In Norfolk, Watson got his first look at big warships and an even bigger ocean.

"It looked like it went on forever," he says. "Lots of people didn't seem to notice, but I sure did."

Watson worked with crew of Navy longshoremen who loaded and unloaded the huge ships as they shuttled in and out of port. He loaded food, equipment and one cargo that required some extra special handling.

"When we were moving ammunition, they always told us it had to be treated very carefully, very carefully," he says. "They didn't have to tell us twice."

From Norfolk, Watson went to Boston and continued to work while he awaited orders for an overseas assignment. He also learned that in segregated America, discrimination didn't stop at the Mason-Dixon line.

"Boston was about as far north as you could get," he says. "But it was just like back home. There were places black people could go and places they couldn't. While I was up there I met some of every kind of people you can think of. I saw devils and backbiters and liars and everything else. Some of them would just as soon hit you over the head and rob you as say hello."

In Boston Watson made friends with some white sailors. He says it wasn't hard since he'd grown up playing with white children in Senoia, including fellow veterans Paul McKnight and William Tinsley.

When two white shipmates invited Watson to go to downtown Boston, he didn't think twice. But once they got to a local bar, the situation soon grew tense.

Watson and the two other sailors walked in and one of them, a sailor named Strickland from Meriwether County, ordered three beers. The bartender put two beers on the counter and turned away.

Strickland told the bartender they wanted three drinks, and the bartender told Strickland he didn't serve blacks.

"I thought there was going to be trouble for sure," Watson says.

Strickland took one of the two beers and slid it down the counter to Watson. The he told the bartender, "You didn't serve him. I did. Now give us another beer."

Everyone was served, and the night ended peacefully.But Watson says it was a nerve-wracking evening.

"I had good days and bad days in the Navy, and that was one of the worst days," he says. "I didn't know how that one as going to turn out."

During his training Watson managed to hustle home on furlough for a visit with his wife. Then he was ordered to report to the Naval Training and Personnel Distribution Center in Camp Shoemaker, California to prepare for deployment overseas. He flew from Boston to the west coast and says his first time in the air wasn't too bad.

"I was a little nervous, but you can't show it," he says. "With all those people around, you have to act like you're not worried even if you are."

After a few weeks at camp Shoemaker, Watson boarded a ship bound for Okinawa, where the largest amphibious battle of the war had been fought just months earlier. One the way overseas, Watson's ship encountered a huge storm that he says was felt all the way back home.

"That storm rose in the sea, and folks tell me that same storm was the one that came down near Haralson a while later," Watson says. "I know our ship had to change course to stay ahead of it or it would have been worse."

During the voyage, Japan surrendered; and Watson's ship was diverted to the Japanese naval base at Yokosuka, on Tokyo Bay.

Watson and his shipmates rarely left the naval base. But when they did, it was definitely different.

"I saw some nice things like mountains and sweet potato farms," he says. "But you couldn't understand what they were saying and they couldn't understand what you were saying -- so it was hard to do much."

Watson says the only people that spoke English were selling souvenirs and trinkets to American servicemen. Watson skipped the souvenirs but did sample a few American treats like ice cream and candy that popped up in local markets.

"I didn't get to see much because we had to stay close to base, but it was interesting to see how other folks lived and did things," Watson says.

In the meanwhile, Watson made sure his family was taken care of back home. About $50 was deducted from his pay each month and sent back to his wife in Senoia. Watson got $9 every two weeks for spending money, but he says it was enough.

"I didn't have to buy anything but toothpaste," he says. "It was plenty to get by."

After several months in Japan, Watson was transferred to the American base on Guam. The Navy Seabees had built a barracks there; but by the time Watson's ship arrived, there was little activity and not much to do. He worked a bit and drove some Army vehicles and played baseball, but says most of the time he and his fellow soldiers just waited for new orders.

"That got old pretty quick 'cause all we wanted to do was go home," he says.

Watson was discharged in March 1946. He rushed home to see his wife and daughter, Mary, who was born while Watson was overseas.

"My time in the Navy wasn't bad," Watson says. "But you can't beat home, and I was ready to get back and see my wife and baby."

Back in Senoia Watson tried farming and hired out to work the local cotton fields and peach orchards. A second daughter, Ollie, came along in 1947. Four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren have joined the family since.

Watson eventually took a job with West Point-based Batson-Cook construction company. He started as a concrete worker but worked his way up and served as a foreman for 20 years before retiring in 1989. During his career, he worked several major projects, including the construction of Columbus Square Mall and an 18-story high-rise in Chattanooga.

Watson still keeps busy tending his yard or using his vehicle as a taxi to run friends and neighbors to various errands and appointments.

"Some people had trouble in the service, but I didn't," he says. "The service gave me some good ideas about how to treat all different kinds of people. I found out that if you stay honest and tend to your business people will respect you and not cause any trouble. That's what I've done all my life and I think I've been blessed."