Lewis G. Watkins

United States Marine Corps Medal of Honor recipient

Staff Sergeant Lewis George Watkins (June 6, 1925 – October 7, 1952) was a United States Marine who was killed in the Korean War. He sacrificed his life to save the lives of fellow Marines under his command and to contribute to the success of his unit's mission during the First Battle of the Hook in the Korean War. For his actions on October 7, 1952, Watkins posthumously received the Medal of Honor.

Lewis Watkins was born on June 6, 1925, in Seneca, South Carolina. He graduated from Greenville High School, South Carolina in 1949. He was a member of the Greenville Police Department when he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on September 12, 1950. After training at Parris Island, South Carolina. He served at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and Camp Pendleton, California before being deployed to Korea. On October 7, 1952, Sergeant Watkins' platoon was assigned to retake an outpost from the enemy. Although wounded in the fight, he placed automatic fire on the enemy machine gun position holding up the assault. When an enemy grenade landed among his men, he shoved them aside, picked up the grenade, and attempted to throw it at the enemy. The grenade exploded in his hand and wounded him mortally. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Watkins of Seneca, South Carolina, received notification that their son had been awarded the nation's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, in a letter from General Lemuel C. Shepherd, Jr., Commandant of the Marine Corps. The Watkins family later donated the medal to the Patriot's Hall Veterans Museum in Walhalla, South Carolina. Lewis Watkins is Oconee County's only Medal of Honor recipient.