He would also receive an extra $250 a month.Ĭharlie was admitted to the University of Texas in Austin on September 15, 1961. His tuition and books would be paid for by the Marine Corps. He would be expected to earn an engineering degree at a selected college and follow that with Officer’s Candidate School. Charlie took a competitive exam and then went before a selection committee which chose him for the prestigious award. NESEP was a scholarship program designed to train engineers who would later become officers. The Naval Enlisted Science Education Program (NESEP) seemed tailor-made for the up-and-comer Charlie fancied himself to be. Every opportunity for advancement was a chance to distance himself from his brutal upbringing. After years of belittlement and abuse from his father, he was anxious to prove himself as a man. It was important to Charlie that he be the best Marine he could be. Captain Joseph Stanton, Executive Officer of the 2nd Marine Division remembered, “He was a good marine. ![]() Chillingly, the records of his scores on shooting tests show that he scored 215 out of 250 possible points, that he excelled at rapid fire from long distances, and that he seemed to be more accurate when shooting at moving targets. He earned a Good Conduct Medal, the Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal, and a Sharpshooter’s Badge. He worked hard at being a good Marine, following orders dutifully and studying hard for his various examinations. He left for basic training on July 6, 1959.Ĭharlie spent the first part of his stint with the Marines at Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba. A few days later he applied for enlistment in the United States Marine Corps. beat him and threw him into the pool, where he nearly drowned. Charlie came home drunk from a night out with friends, whereupon C.A. In June of 1959, shortly before Charlie Whitman’s 18th birthday, tensions with his father came to a head. But the luxuries did nothing to alleviate the troubles within the Whitman household. Their home was the nicest in the neighborhood, with all the amenities and a swimming pool. and Margaret always drove late-model cars, and each of the boys was given guns, motorcycles, and other gifts C.A. “I did on many occasions beat my wife,” he would later say, “but I loved her…I did and do have an awful temper, but my wife was awful stubborn….because of my temper, I knocked her around.” His discipline with his sons was equally harsh-he often employed belts, paddles and his fists to make sure they complied with his rules and met his expectations. He brooked no weakness in any of his three sons, and he ruled his home dictatorially. Whitman was a self-made man, a plumber who had worked and willed his way to the top of his profession and into polite society. But the trappings of the Whitman home concealed turmoil. He was a gifted student, an accomplished pianist, and an Eagle Scout. He came from a wealthy, prominent family in Lake Worth, Florida. On the surface, Charles Whitman would have seemed as steady and upstanding as the Texas Tower itself. The Whitman family, Charles in the back row. Despite these tragedies the Tower stood as a beloved symbol of Texas pride and expansiveness, the figurative heart of the surrounding campus and city. There was another accidental death in 1950. The first death associated with the tower came during its construction a worker slipped and fell twelve floors in 1935. It opened in 1937 and by 1966, it attracted roughly 20,000 visitors a year, most of whom wanted to take in the spectacular view of Austin from the 28th floor observation deck. It is a shorter building than the nearby State Capitol, but it stands taller as it is built on higher ground. ![]() In fact, in previous years Charlie had remarked offhandedly to various people that a sniper could do quite a bit of damage from the Tower. It was as if it had been built for his purpose. The Tower afforded Whitman a nearly unassailable vantage point from which he could select and dispatch victims. Whitman’s story stands out for many reasons, not the least of which being that it features a co-star-the University of Texas Tower, from which he fired almost unimpeded for 96 minutes.
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