WW2 Named Navy Good Conduct Medal & China Service Medal (USS North Carolina, Guadalcanal Campaign and much more)
- Type: Wrap Brooch
WW2 original Named Navy Good Conduct Medal & China Service Medal. Both medals remain in great condition. The Navy Good Conduct medal has a period original Wrap Brooch mechanism and is government engraved "William Allen Watkins 1934". The medal set comes with loads of research material. The research on Watkins says the following:
United States Navy Chief Petty Officer William Allen Watkins was born March 9th 1912 in West Virginia.
William enlisted at 18 years old as a Seaman in the U.S. Navy on September 5th 1930 and he rose through the enlisted ranks as a turret crewman. He was promoted to Turret Captain and extended his enlistment on September 5th 1936.
TC Watkins was transferred to the Brooklyn Class Light Cruiser U.S.S. Savannah on March 10th 1938, he was promoted to Turret Captain 1st Class for the ships 6 inch 130mm guns. He was discharged on September 17th 1940 and he reenlisted a few weeks later on October 1st 1940 in Washington D.C./New York, N.Y. (Rolls show both locations for that enlistment date). William filled out the 1940 Census, and marked his employment as a Turret Captain in the U.S. Navy.
TC1c Watkins transfered to the newly christened BB-55 Battleship U.S.S. North Carolina April 9th 1941.
Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December, the North Carolina mobilized for war and was intially sent to counter a possible sortie by the German battleship Tirpitz, though this did not materialize.
TC Watkins was promoted to Chief Turret Captain of the 16 inch 406mm guns on January 1st 1942, he was also issued his CPO cap badge.
The North Carolina was promptly transferred to the Pacific to strengthen Allied forces during the Guadalcanal Campaign. There, she screened aircraft carriers engaged in the campaign and took part in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons on 24th-25th of August 1942, where she shot down several Japanese aircraft. The next month she was torpedoed by a Japanese Submarine but was not seriously damaged. After repairs, she returned to the campaign and continued to screen aircraft carriers during the campaigns across the central Pacific in 1943 and 1944, including the Gilberts and Marshall Islands and the Mariana and Palau Islands, where she saw action during the Battle of the Philippine Sea.
It is unclear (but most likely) if Chief Turret Captain Watkins remained aboard the North Carolina through the rest of World War II, but the records show he reenlisted on Ocotber 1st 1944 in Bremerton, Washington. He was awarded this Navy Good Conduct Medal and China Service Medal (along with many more awards) for his service during WWII and later on the Korean War. He retired from the Navy during the Korean War on June 5th 1952.
United Stated Navy Chief Turret Captain Watkins passed away on June 19th 2003 at 91 years old.
Excellent interesting and historic medal set with great historic value and further research potential! No repairs, no damage.