Robert William Watson, Jr. was born on October 21, 1917 in Spartanburg, SC the son of Robert W. and Maude E. Ladd Watson. He graduated from Clemson College in 1939 with a degree in electrical engineering. He married Pauline Broyles (1923-1998) and they had three children: Martha, Robert III, and Sally. After graduation he worked at the Carter Coal Company power plant in Coalwood, WV as an electrical engineer until he was called to active duty on August 25, 1941 as a second lieutenant in the Ordnance Corps.

Watson attended several stateside ordnance schools and then served for a year as a munitions production officer inspecting chemical munitions. He was transferred to the Quartermaster Corps as a motor transportation officer and in late 1943 was stationed in Assam, India. In 1944 Watson joined the 472nd Quartermaster Group stationed in Chabua and in January 1945 was assigned to the 3729th Quartermaster Truck Company located in Dibrugarh where he supervised truck repair and maintenance operations. In February 1945 he became the detachment commanding officer in the 472nd Quartermaster Group. Watson was hospitalized in April 1945 in the 234th General Hospital in Chabua after suffering a nervous breakdown relating to a decision handed down by a court martial on which he had served and was eventually transferred to a hospital in Hazard, KY before being honorably discharged from active duty on December 30, 1945 with the rank of first lieutenant.

After his service he moved to Greenville, SC and later became an electrical engineer for a manufacturing company in Durham, NC. He took his own life on March 14, 1954 in Durham.