Watts, Donovan Earl

Command Sergeant Major Donovan Earl Watts was a senior non-commissioned officer from Atlanta, Georgia. He served with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 505th Infantry Regiment, part of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, which was attached to the 25th Infantry Division. He was 46 years old at the time of his deployment to Iraq.

On November 21, 2006, Watts was killed by indirect fire at Forward Operating Base Summerall, a U.S. military installation near the city of Bayji in Salah ad Din province. The base, a former Iraqi air force facility, was a frequent target for insurgent mortar and rocket attacks during that period. The attack that killed Watts reportedly involved a mortar round.

Watts died during a phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom marked by intense sectarian violence and a major U.S. counter-insurgency effort. The years 2005-2007 were the deadliest of the war for U.S. forces and Iraqi civilians. The city of Bayji, home to a critical oil refinery, was a contested area north of Baghdad along the Tigris River.

Following his death, Watts was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart. His memorial service was held at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, home of the 82nd Airborne Division. He was survived by his wife and children.

Command Sergeant Major Watts is memorialized on panel 12E, row 121 of the Iraq War Memorial at the Veterans Memorial Park in Bakersfield, California, and on the Fallen Heroes Memorial at Fort Bragg. His battalion continued its deployment in Iraq for several more months after his death.

Command Sergeant Major Watts was killed during Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003–2010). The conflict concluded in August 2010. See the full roster of those killed in this conflict.

Among those documented in the same conflict: Kennedy, Brian Matthew, Beaupre, Ryan Anthony, Gutierrez, Jose, Waters-bey, Kendall Damon.

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