in 24-hour intervals with an outer minutes/seconds chapter ring
marked in 5-second intervals, indirect center sweep seconds hand.
Case has a coin edge screw on back and front for a tight hermetic
seal. Lepine-style case with crown at 12 o’clock, fitted with a Lepine
movement modified to indirect center sweep seconds.
This watch was worn by Staff Sergeant Jason Shiflet, a Lancaster County native, during Operation Iraqi Freedom I. It worked well
and accompanied him throughout the invasion until June 25, 2003.
On that day, while acting as the quick reaction force, Shiflet and his
platoon were responding to reports of Marines in Contact. Moving
quickly to the scene, the Light Armored Vehicle that Shiflet was
commanding rolled over when an irrigation canal collapsed beneath
it. Shiflet was injured and medically evacuated. Shiflet’s gunner,
Corporal Gregory E. MacDonald, was killed. The watch accompanied Shiflet to Germany and eventually home and has not been set
or cleaned since that day. Shiflet deployed to Iraq again in 2007 and
retired from the Marine Corps Reserve in 2011 after 20 years of service. Corporal MacDonald was one of the finest men he ever knew.
Watch info: Circa 2001 Timex Expedition easy-set bezel alarm
watch. Quartz analog with Arabic numerals, blue steeled hands and
a white, center sweep seconds hand, date window at 3 o’clock, and
crown at 3 o’clock that sets hands. An additional crown at 4 o’clock
sets an hour and minute alarm. Water resistant to 165 feet and mineral “sapphire” glass.
Through personal interviews with surviving veterans the
Museum staff realized that the watches these men and women wore
were more than just timekeepers. The watches connected them to
a significant and emotional experience in their lives. The Museum
hopes that through the continued presentation of these timepieces
on the exhibit’s website that others will share their watches and their
stories with the public.
2016 | WRISTWATCH
117