This grainy black and white photo has always bothered me. It was the only known photo of SP4 Alfonza Watson, an Alpha Company, 3-12 Infantry soldier who was killed in action on May 1st, 1967. It’s obviously a government photo, probably from his draft board appearance or induction day. Either way, it’s not right that this is all we had to remember him by.
While researching his unit, I ended up stumbling across his high school senior photo, which presents him in much more flattering light. I’ve sent it to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and they will update his Wall of Faces memorial page soon. https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/54727/ALFONZA-WATSON/
Here’s a little bit of info about SP4 Alfonza Watson.
He was born in rural southern Alabama, likely in the small town of Burnt Corn, on June 14th, 1944. His parents, James & Ellen, and five siblings lived there until at least 1950. In 1953, his father James died. He is buried in Burnt Corn. At some point after that, Ellen and her kids left Alabama and moved to the Compton neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. She remarried, and took the last name Harrison, but I can’t find much else on her.
Alfonza and his older siblings attended Centennial High School in Compton. He graduated from Centennial in 1963. I can’t find much info about Alfonza between 1963 and 1966, but I believe he stayed in L.A. In early 1966, he received his draft notice, and was inducted into the U.S. Army on May 17th, 1966.
Army service
He attended Basic Training at Ft. Bliss, Texas, and then returned home for a short leave. During this leave he married Ms. Patricia A. Norris, also from Los Angeles. He was then ordered to Ft. Polk, Louisiana for Advanced Individual Training, and graduated in early October bearing the Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) of 11B20, Infantryman. After receiving his orders for Vietnam, he spent another short leave with his new wife before shipping out.
He arrived in Vietnam on October 26th, 1966, and after a few weeks of in-processing and orientation, was assigned to Alpha Company, 3-12 Infantry, 4th Infantry Division on November 19th, 1966. He reported to Alpha Company in the field near Tuy Hoa, and eventually was promoted to Specialist Fourth Class.
On the morning of May 1st, 1967, SP4 Alfonza Watson was manning a three person listening post outside the main Alpha Company perimeter in the mountains west of LZ Jackson Hole. At 0717 hours, the NVA launched a company size attack on the Alpha Company position. The volume of incoming fire at SP4 Watson’s LP was so intense, he realized that it was unlikely he and the other two men would make it back to the Alpha Company lines. He ordered the two other men to make a run for it, and continued to lay down suppressing fire on the onrushing NVA soldiers. The two soldiers successfully returned to the Alpha Company perimeter, but the LP position was eventually overrun by the NVA, and SP4 Watson mortally wounded. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for his actions that morning.
