Corp David Lee Watson
Born Apr. 28, 1978 in Arkansas
Died Sep. 22, 2007 in Baqubah, Iraq
Corp. David L. Watson grew up in Tuckerman, Arkansas, a small town in the northeastern part of the state and he held the same small-town values the town had. A 1996 graduate of Tuckerman High School, he had a list of achievements there from Top Honors, Mr. THS, an exceptional athlete and Student of the Year. He enlisted in the Army National Guard in 1997 and completed the Health Care Specialist Qualification Course and bachelor’s degree in 2002. Several times David re-enlisted, and the military life suited him perfectly. He was a soldier’s soldier, with a drive to achieve and care for the wounded. David never met a stranger, and when he married his wife Lisa, he gained another family. In January 2006 David re-enlisted for the last time. He knew he would be called to serve in Iraq, something he wanted to do, to go and help its people and soldiers. He deployed as a combat medic assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), based at Fort Lewis, Washington, in April of 2006. David’s natural love for children was a blessing to the children of Iraq, whom David dealt with on a daily basis. He always kept a supply of candy to give them. Back home David was the father of two boys and before he left he told his youngest son Dayton that if he was good and watched over Lisa while dad was gone, a new 4-wheeler would be his. On September 22, 2007, David died of a non-combat related illness in Baqubah. Two days later Dayton got the promised 4-wheeler, a gift from Lisa’s family, because Dayton couldn’t at his age understand that daddy wasn’t coming home. David is survived by his wife, Lisa Powell Watson; two sons, Dayton Xavier Watson and David Caelan Watson; his mother, Linda Watson; two brothers, Bryant Watson and Derek Robinson; two sisters, Christal Hill and Nikki Moore; his grandparents, O.C. and Velma Bobo; his grandmother, Ernestine Watson; father-in-law, Johnny Powell; and mother-in-law, Brenda Powell. His father Leroy died in 2003. David was promoted from specialist to corporal posthumously and was buried in New Hope Cemetery in Jackson County, Arkansas.
The Corp David Lee Watson by Freedom Remembered, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
