Harold Watson was one of the 80 airmen who, under the leadership of Jimmy Doolittle, disembarked from the U.S.S. Hornet in the first bombing raid over Tokyo in World War II. Injured when he bailed out of his bomber over China, he was one of the most severely injured survivors of the raid and was a patient at Walter Reed Hospital until July 1944 when he returned to duty in various posts in the United States.
Sponsored by:
Harold
Francis
Watson
Home:
Buffalo
,
New York
Awards Received
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Distinguished Flying Cross
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Distinguished Flying Cross
Service:
United States Army Air ForcesRank:
First Lieutenant (Air Corps)Division:
Doolittle Tokyo Raider ForceAction Date:
April 18, 1942
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to First Lieutenant (Air Corps) Harold Francis Watson (ASN: 0-397797), United States Army Air Forces, for extraordinary achievement as Pilot of a B-25 Bomber of the 1st Special Aviation Project (Doolittle Raider Force), while participating in a highly destructive raid on the Japanese mainland on 18 April 1942. Lieutenant Watson with 79 other officers and enlisted men volunteered for this mission knowing full well that the chances of survival were extremely remote, and executed his part in it with great skill and daring. This achievement reflects high credit on himself and the military service.