Remember Our Fallen Service Members

The United States has three holidays to honor to the military.  Armed Forces Day is for honoring all  of the people that are currently serving in the military.  Veterans Day is for honoring all of the people that served in the military.  Memorial Day is for honoring all of the people that died while in the service of our country.  This year I'm going to do something a little different.

A few years ago, I wrote an article about my Great Uncle's medals that he received during World War II.   One of them was a Purple Heart that he received for wounds during combat.  At the time I wrote that article, I didn't know the circumstances of his death.  After some digging by one of my relatives, I found out about how he died.
He served in World War II as an electrician for the 6th Naval Construction Battalion.  They were sent to Guadalcanal to help construct Henderson Airfield.  On October 16th, 1942, my great uncle was sent with a detail of 17 men to help offload aviation gasoline from the aircraft tender McFarland.  Just after the last fuel drum was loaded but before the barge could cast off, a group of Japanese dive bombers swooped into attack the ship.  The first group of planes missed the ship but the second group hit the barge which caused it to burst into flames.  Afterwards, the ship and the barge were strafed by the Japanese planes.  The guns of the McFarland were able to shoot down some of the planes.
Of the 17 men on the barge, three of them were severely burnt by the flames.  They were my great uncle, a man named R.J. Watson and another named D.J. Willis.  One man had a ruptured ear drum and seven men were killed in the flames.  My great uncle would later die as a result of the wounds from getting burnt.
Eventually, his body was returned to Michigan and he is buried up in Cadillac by my grandpa, grandma and other relatives.
Pictured above is his grave.