Air Force Maj Watkins was assigned to the 333rd Fighter Squadron, 4th Operations Group, 4th Fighter Wing, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina. Watkins was the Weapons Systems Officer of an F-15E Strike Eagle that that went down during a combat mission (in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the Global War on Terrorism). William grew up in South Boston and attended Woodberry Forest School where he played football and sang in the school choir. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Class of 1989, where he studied aeronautical engineering. Before serving in Iraq, he was a Naval flight officer in the A-6E Intruder and F-14A Tomcat (12 years in the Navy). His Navy comrades called him "Salty," and he kept the nickname when he transferred in 2001 to the Air Force. William was a Jimmy Buffett fan who, in true Parrothead fashion, donned Hawaiian shirts for the concerts. He leaves behind his wife of five years, Maj. Melissa Watkins, an Air Force Intelligence Officer stationed at Seymour Johnson AFB, his 15-month-old son and a daughter who was born July 31. Deployed to/flying out of Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, William was bombing enemy positions in Tikrit, a critical interdiction mission,when his F-15E went down (tail #88-1694). An Air Force spokesman could not say yesterday exactly why the plane crashed. He characterized it as a "combat loss."
NOTE: Some of the officer's remains were recovered later (along with the pilot's) a not-uncommon occurrence when a supersonic jet crashes in a combat zone. The families decided to have the newly found remains buried at Arlington. In a joint burial, the remains of Lieutenant Colonel William R. "Salty" Watkins III (promoted posthumously) and Captain Eric B. "Boot" Das (1972-2003) were laid to rest in a single casket, in a single grave. This burial was 3 May 2003. He is indeed buried in two places, three if you count the crash site in Iraq. This is not a cenotaph but the original burial location. The Arlington National Cemetery burial was 28 Aug 2003 (see Find a Grave Memorial #8545433).
5th Great Grandfather - Col Samuel Woodson Venable (1756–1821) who served in Capt Thomas Watkins dragoons in Revolutionary War.
NOTE: Some of the officer's remains were recovered later (along with the pilot's) a not-uncommon occurrence when a supersonic jet crashes in a combat zone. The families decided to have the newly found remains buried at Arlington. In a joint burial, the remains of Lieutenant Colonel William R. "Salty" Watkins III (promoted posthumously) and Captain Eric B. "Boot" Das (1972-2003) were laid to rest in a single casket, in a single grave. This burial was 3 May 2003. He is indeed buried in two places, three if you count the crash site in Iraq. This is not a cenotaph but the original burial location. The Arlington National Cemetery burial was 28 Aug 2003 (see Find a Grave Memorial #8545433).
5th Great Grandfather - Col Samuel Woodson Venable (1756–1821) who served in Capt Thomas Watkins dragoons in Revolutionary War.
Air Force Maj Watkins was assigned to the 333rd Fighter Squadron, 4th Operations Group, 4th Fighter Wing, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina. Watkins was the Weapons Systems Officer of an F-15E Strike Eagle that that went down during a combat mission (in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the Global War on Terrorism). William grew up in South Boston and attended Woodberry Forest School where he played football and sang in the school choir. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Class of 1989, where he studied aeronautical engineering. Before serving in Iraq, he was a Naval flight officer in the A-6E Intruder and F-14A Tomcat (12 years in the Navy). His Navy comrades called him "Salty," and he kept the nickname when he transferred in 2001 to the Air Force. William was a Jimmy Buffett fan who, in true Parrothead fashion, donned Hawaiian shirts for the concerts. He leaves behind his wife of five years, Maj. Melissa Watkins, an Air Force Intelligence Officer stationed at Seymour Johnson AFB, his 15-month-old son and a daughter who was born July 31. Deployed to/flying out of Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, William was bombing enemy positions in Tikrit, a critical interdiction mission,when his F-15E went down (tail #88-1694). An Air Force spokesman could not say yesterday exactly why the plane crashed. He characterized it as a "combat loss."
NOTE: Some of the officer's remains were recovered later (along with the pilot's) a not-uncommon occurrence when a supersonic jet crashes in a combat zone. The families decided to have the newly found remains buried at Arlington. In a joint burial, the remains of Lieutenant Colonel William R. "Salty" Watkins III (promoted posthumously) and Captain Eric B. "Boot" Das (1972-2003) were laid to rest in a single casket, in a single grave. This burial was 3 May 2003. He is indeed buried in two places, three if you count the crash site in Iraq. This is not a cenotaph but the original burial location. The Arlington National Cemetery burial was 28 Aug 2003 (see Find a Grave Memorial #8545433).
5th Great Grandfather - Col Samuel Woodson Venable (1756–1821) who served in Capt Thomas Watkins dragoons in Revolutionary War.
NOTE: Some of the officer's remains were recovered later (along with the pilot's) a not-uncommon occurrence when a supersonic jet crashes in a combat zone. The families decided to have the newly found remains buried at Arlington. In a joint burial, the remains of Lieutenant Colonel William R. "Salty" Watkins III (promoted posthumously) and Captain Eric B. "Boot" Das (1972-2003) were laid to rest in a single casket, in a single grave. This burial was 3 May 2003. He is indeed buried in two places, three if you count the crash site in Iraq. This is not a cenotaph but the original burial location. The Arlington National Cemetery burial was 28 Aug 2003 (see Find a Grave Memorial #8545433).
5th Great Grandfather - Col Samuel Woodson Venable (1756–1821) who served in Capt Thomas Watkins dragoons in Revolutionary War.
Inscription
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Air Force
Iraq
Purple Heart Killed in Action
