LEBANON, TENN. (Tribune News Service) -- It is fitting that Maj. Gen. Gerald G. Watson, 90, died on July 3, so close to Fourth of July. He loved God, family and country, according to his two sons, Bryan and Darryl Watson. Both said almost the same things when describing their father -- that he saw everything in terms of black and white, right and wrong.
Watson's determination to protect his country eventually led to his having two historical titles: The Modern Father of the Chemical Corps, given to him by the Chemical Corps Regimental Association, and Mr. Chemical Weapons, a title that former U.S. Rep. Glen Browder, of Jacksonville, Ala., said Watson earned in the political circles at the Pentagon and Congress because of his knowledge and leadership in the areas of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense.
He highly contributed to preventing disestablishment of the Chemical Corps in the 1970s and the revitalization of the Corps in the 1980s.
Watson died in Lebanon, Tenn., where he had moved from Jacksonville five years ago to be near Bryan, who also retired from the Army as a two-star general like his father.
On Saturday, a viewing will be at 3 p.m. at Sellars Funeral Home in Lebanon, and the funeral will be at 4 p.m. A full military service will take place at Arlington National Cemetery, Va., where his wife, Carol Ann, Watson's eighth-grade sweetheart is buried.
Watson was raised in Kilgore, Texas, and entered the Army in 1957. He served at Fort McClellan, Ala., in 1964 with the Chemical Company. In 1967-68, he fought in Vietnam and became well known for accompanying the pilot of an airplane called "Patches" because it had been shot more than 500 times and had that many patches.
"His airplane is in the Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio," Bryan said. "It took more direct hits than any other and continued its mission."
Watson, who was not a pilot, took over flying in Vietnam after a pilot was shot by enemy fire.
According to a biography shared by Watson's former speech writer at Fort McClellan, Mike Abrams, the Army's defoliation program was so successful that it resulted in more than a 90% reduction in ambushes from the Vietcong forces in South Vietnam.
"For his entire life, he believed that our enemies were developing and prepared to use chemical, biological and nuclear threats against this country," Darryl said. "He believed that a strong robust chemical, nuclear and biological program was our best deterrent to that threat."
After Vietnam, he returned to McClellan in 1980 as a one-star general to direct the Army Chemical School. He returned to McClellan in 1986 as a two-star general and served as commanding general until 1989.
He spent his last three years of active duty as the director of the Defense Nuclear Agency in Washington.
Watson and Carol Ann settled in Jacksonville after his retirement in 1992 before moving to Tennessee.
"I got to know Gen. Watson as a demanding officer in that he knew what he wanted and he expected his staff to provide the answers to his questions," Abrams said. "It was a challenge to meet his high expectations, and I was a low-level staff member trying to help in my area of expertise."
Abrams later moved into a public relations job at McClellan where he observed Watson interacting with the community and saw his concern for soldiers.
"He was looking to see what he could do to assist the community and Fort McClellan," he said. "He helped arrange parades for major change-of-command ceremonies and holiday celebrations. There were concerts by the 14th Army Band, and he supported other things."
He added that "After his retirement, I saw another side of him. He stepped out of his uniform and became more mellow. You saw the heart that beat in that soldier’s body."
Abrams helped Watson bring Wreaths Across America -- a nonprofit organization that coordinates wreath-laying ceremonies at national cemeteries and other locations across the United States and abroad -- to McClellan.
Abrams said Watson and Carol Ann would stand in front of local stores in 2011 collecting funds to pay for the first program at the soldiers' cemetery on post.
"He knew nine out of ten people who walked into the stores," Abrams said. "Because of his support and endorsement, with the community support, the program continues today."
Browder, who served on the Armed Service Committee, said he remembers the hard work that he, Watson, Lt. Maj. Robert Ord and Maj. Gen Charles Hines did to save McClellan.
"I went to Congress in 1989," Browder said," ... We were always careful not to be only 'saving our Fort.' We fought over our ability to save our troops and help them function and survive if chemically attacked. McClellan was important specifically because Fort McClellan had the only live agent, chemical-training facility in the free world."
After retirement, Bryan recalled how active his father became in the community in Calhoun County, Ala. He was a member of the Kiwanis Club of Anniston and tutored middle school students.
"He loved the people in the Jacksonville, Aniston and Oxford areas and was very active at the St. Michael's And All Angels Episcopal Church," he said.
Both sons also said their father, as busy as he was, took the time to teach them to fish and hunt and spend time with them, even though he was strict.
"He was an incredible father," Bryan said. "Sort of a boy's dream."
Watson lobbied Congress on behalf of the Army Chemical Corps School, according to former Anniston City Manager Rear Adm. Kent Davis. Watson was instrumental in working with the Pentagon and U.S. Department of Justice in late 1990s. He wanted to turn chemical training facility he had built at Fort McClellan into Homeland Security facility and develop training courses so civilian first responders could respond to an incident involving weapons of mass destruction.
"Maj. Gen.Watson was a big advocate for that,"Davis said."His voice was important."
Watson's list of leadership positions in the military includes serving as commander of Rocky Mountain Arsenal at Fort Carson Colo.; Army's Deputy Chief-of-Staff for Operations; Army's deputy Inspector General.
Watson's awards and decorations include Bronze Star Medal; Legion of Merit; Distinguished Service Medal.