Recently, a friend asked me if I had ever heard of an Army chaplain who had won the Medal of Honor in the Vietnam War. To my shame, I had not.
Thankfully, others had, and they have kept the hero’s memory alive. (Kearny Police Chief John Dowie, to whom I mentioned the name the other day, even knew the chaplain’s unit — 173rd Airborne — and where he had died, in the Battle of Dak To.)
Now, there’s a local reminder of the chaplain’s valor: The reconstructed span on Route 3 over the Passaic River between Clifton and Lyndhurst/Rutherford has been officially designated the Major Charles J. Watters Memorial Bridge. Look for the signs. And if someone ever asks you, “Who’s that?” you can tell them this story:
Watters was born in Jersey City (which has named a school after him) in 1927. He graduated from Seton Hall Prep and Seton Hall University, studied for the priesthood and was ordained in 1953.
He joined the N.J. Air National Guard as a Catholic chaplain in 1962, and two years later took the same role on active duty with the U.S. Army.
In 1966, he was sent to Vietnam, earning the Air Medal and a Bronze Star during that first tour of duty. In July 1967, when the 12 months were up, he volunteered for another six – but he would live only four.
On Nov. 19, U.S. troops engaged the North Vietnamese near the Central Highlands province of Dak To, and Watters was in the middle of it, despite being, as Newark Star- Ledger reporter Robert E. Misseck put it, “unarmed except for a crucifix and a prayer.”
The Medal of Honor citation describes his courage under fire:
“As the battle raged and the casualties mounted, Chaplain Watters, with complete disregard for his safety, rushed forward to the line of contact. Unarmed and completely exposed, he moved among, as well as in front of the advancing troops, giving aid to the wounded, assisting in their evacuation, giving words of encouragement, and administering the Last Rites to the dying.
“When a wounded paratrooper was standing in shock in front of the assaulting forces, Chaplain Watters ran forward, picked the man up on his shoulders and carried him to safety.”
As the battle continued, Watters “ran through the intense enemy fire” – small arms, automatic weapon and mortar fire — to rescue a half-dozen other wounded Americans.
The citation continues: “Satisfied that all of the wounded were inside the perimeter, he began aiding the medics … applying field bandages to open wounds, obtaining and serving food and water, giving spiritual and mental strength and comfort.
“During his ministering, he moved out to the perimeter from position to position redistributing food and water and tending to the needs of his men.”
Then, according to reports, a 500-lb. bomb was mistakenly dropped on the paratroopers by U.S. forces. “Friendly fire” it’s called. The troops said Chaplain Watters was killed while giving Last Rites to a mortally wounded soldier. The priest was 40 years old.
Watters is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, and his name is engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington.
It is also engraved in the hearts of those who knew him, and those who know of him and what the medal citation notes was his “selfless devotion to his comrades.”
– Karen Zautyk
(Editor’s note: I had intended to write this column for Memorial Day, but in that week’s issue of The Observer, I instead paid tribute to a friend who recently died. That man, a Marine, had been a war correspondent in Vietnam. I like to think that he and Chaplain Watters have been sharing some stories.)
