A WWII legacy

By Tom Davidson
Herald Staff Writer

MERCER May 17, 2008 06:18 pm

— Judy King never knew Lt. James R. Watson.
He died before he could get the chance to meet his artistically inclined niece. Watson was killed in action during Operation Market Garden on Sept. 18, 1944, in Holland, as a member of the Army’s 101st Airborne Division.
His mother, Hester A. Bobbitt Watson Mock, lived in Grove City at the time of his death. Mrs. King didn’t think much of her family history or her uncle’s contribution during World War II until she met Adry and Hermien Weinberg.
They live near the U.S. Cemetery at Margraten, Holland, and are among the faithful Dutch who tend to the graves there. They see to it that flowers adorn the white marble cross marking Lt. Watson’s final resting place.
In an interview with The (Oil City) Derrick, Adry Weinberg said he’s glad he’s been able to forge a relationship with the surviving Watsons.
“It became more than just a marker cross; there is a story behind the cross now,” Weinberg told the newspaper.
For Mrs. King, the Weinbergs’ dedication serves as an inspiration.
“My generation’s first memory of war was POWs coming home” in the 1970s after Vietnam, she said.
Since then, war has had a different philosophical timbre.
World War II was different. It affected more than 16 million American families and claimed about 300,000 lives. Fewer than 2.5 million World War II veterans survive, and that number is dwindling each day.
Mrs. King said she “grew up not knowing what these men sacrificed.”
After meeting the Weinbergs, “for the first time it made sense to me,” she said.
“Through them we have been shown the importance of his sacrifice. They are so appreciative and take care of his grave at every American and Dutch holiday with flowers and partake of services at the cemetery,” Mrs. King said. “They have taught me a great deal about what freedom means and to truly honor the men that fought for their freedom.
“Since, I’ve talked with men who were in the war,” she said.
Seeing veterans’ faces “light up” when they recall past deeds is an inspiration, she said.
She’s turned that inspiration into perspiration to help this year’s Memorial Day 500 in Mercer. Mrs. King draws and paints. Her work adorns her home in Fairview Township and has been showcased the last two years at a corn maze in Coolspring Township.
Those airbrushed works of a locomotive and the Mercer County Courthouse caught the eye of Mark and Linda Brown, the Mercerites who organize the Memorial Day 500.
Mrs. King volunteered to airbrush two World War II-era ships that will be part of this year’s parade.
Mrs. King’s husband Duane cut out the signboard and tolerated the loss of space in his garage as she painstakingly airbrushed layers of color that make the ships convincingly realistic.
How the painted ships will become a parade float is something her husband will have to engineer, she said.
Next weekend, Mrs. King’s float will be one of several in the gigantic Memorial Day parade organized by the Browns.
The parade in Mercer is set to move at 11 a.m. May 26.

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