Many Robson residents served in our Armed Forces, and several saw combat. It is doubtful that anyone saw the level of combat as that of Robson resident Watson Crumbie. As a U.S. Marine, Mr. Crumbie fought in both World War II and the Korean War. Since living at Robson Ranch he has told his story to various local gatherings, often using excerpts from his own written account, “My Time as a Marine.” For those who have never met Watson, you may have at least seen him as Grand Marshall at the start of one of the Robson Ranch July 4 Parades.
On the evening of Wednesday, September 2, this year, State Representative Pat Fallon (District 106 adjoining our district) surprised Mr. Crumbie at the beginning of the Robson Ranch Republican Club meeting. Representative Fallon had a special Proclamation honoring Watson’s military service and “his valiant efforts as a member of the U.S. Marines.” Rep. Fallon read the Proclamation, which had been delivered in the State Capitol in Austin earlier this year.
The two-page document recounted some of the horrific battles that Watson managed to survive, such as the invasion of Saipan where 800 of the 1,000 men in his regiment had been killed or wounded. It also detailed the 82-day campaign in Okinawa where Watson blew up enemy caves and tunnels and then served in China before returning home.
Watson returned to duty for the Korean War in time to take part in the harrowing Chosin Reservoir campaign where the Marines were completely surrounded by Chinese troops. For 13 days, surrounded by the enemy and with temperatures diving as low as 30 degrees below zero, the 1st Marine Division, composed of 15,000 men, suffered 12,000 casualties before reaching safety at the coast.
The Proclamation ends with, “Watson Crumbie has embodied the highest ideals of the U.S. Marine Corps, and he has earned the lasting gratitude of every American.”
Watson, who was born in Dallas in 1925 and grew up in this area, returned to well-deserved civilian life in 1951. He and his wife Margaret Anne moved to Robson Ranch 10 years ago.