Bernard Jerard Watkins was born on August 27, 1922. He served in the 439th Troop Carrier Group as a Sergeant during World War II. During the Berlin Airlift, he was a crew member on one of the supply planes carrying airplane engines and other parts to Burtonwood Air Base in England for maintenance, when his plane, C-54 #45-554, crashed into a hillside in England on a foggy, misty day in January 1949. The crash, caused by navigation interference from a nearby radio tower, occurred 15 miles northeast of Blackpool, England on January 7, 1949. SGT Watkins was killed in the crash and is now buried in the Salem Cemetery, Attica, Fountain County, Indiana, USA.

Crew of the C-54 #45-5543:
CPT William A. Rathgeber
PVT Ronald E. Stone
CPL Norbert H. Theis
SGT Bernard J. Watkins
1LT Lowell A. Wheaton, Jr.
1LT Richard M. Wurgel