The Charlie I Knew: A Factual Account of Our Friendship

By Francis J. Schuck Jr

This non-fiction book provides the accurate details of the life and adventures of Charles Joseph Whitman for some of the five years prior to the University of Texas Tower Tragedy. It reveals parts of Texas and University of Texas history and Culture, mixed with Criminal Justice/Menta

• Language: English
• Publisher: Shook Enterprises
• Release date: Jul 17, 2020
• ISBN: 9781735199825

Book preview

AN INTRODUCTION

Crack, crack, crack -- the rifle fire continued for what seemed an eternity in Austin, Texas. Bodies dropped right and left. Charles J. Whitman proved that picking off victims from the Texas Tower was, indeed, amazingly easy.

Crack, crack, crack ---!

Sadly, no one knew it at the time but a new era of domestic terror was being ushered into American life.

Crack, crack, crack!

And this was the young man whom just less than 4 years earlier I was so honored to serve as Best Man in his wedding to the lovely young lady to whom I had introduced him in that familiar UT campus setting.

If you are bored with narratives of actual facts, allow me to explain that this collection of episodes, which I am about to share with you, will not be a particularly action filled account of my knowledge of that same Charles Joseph Whitman. But, it will be, to the best of my ability, a factual and accurate presentation of the Truth. That is something which to this day has bothered me about the other stories which have been told, in films, books, or the professional, or not so professional, analyses of many experts on the subjects of psychopathy, mental health, brain tumors, anger management and countless other modalities. There are, though, several very personal and human events that I enjoyed sharing with Charlie in the years before the Tower Tragedy, as I chose to call it. You, too, may find a few of them interesting, some even amusing and hopefully most of them will enhance your understanding of what all actually happened over 50 years ago.

This is not just an outpouring of the facts as I know them, but the results of a lot of dedicated research. From the start, I slowly tried to resolve what possibly might have precipitated these insane actions.

Then, as more of the story unfolded and other people contributed their ofttimes mistaken set or sets of ideas and opinions, I recognized that the Truth really needs to be brought out, and that’s a belief I have always held. In all of my research, even a statement which I gave to the FBI/ONI on a submarine tender all those many years ago looms out at me. That’s the term, jacklighting, which was, at the time, inaccurately used by me in my soul searching and hand written account of my association with Charlie for those investigative agencies. An account, which even then, I went over with those supposedly versed agents and then attested to as being accurate. As I now recall, we (those FBI and ONI agents and myself) tussled with it then, to ascertain it was the correct word to use, and we decided that it was. It wasn’t!

It is my intent to first introduce myself (hopefully not too boring an account), let you know how Charlie, as I chose and choose to call him, and I met, then share some of the enriching and enjoyable times we had together prior to this horrific crime being perpetrated by him. As I go, as accurately as possible, about doing this, I hopefully can dispel some of the misleading statements and stories that have earlier been made. I want you and the public to know what I knew about this young ex-Marine. Then, as I’ve tried to do all these years, make your own decision, if it hasn’t already been made, as to why someone, so seemingly normal, would kill his own loving and beloved Mother, then his beautiful, adoring and faithful young wife, and suddenly and mercilessly murder, maim or injure over 4 dozen innocent and unsuspecting people.

WHY? That elusive fifth W in the journalistic research and police investigation concept joined by Who, What, When and Where…the four questions we do have answers for. We also know the How, but we will never truly know the Why. Many of us, since birth almost, have pondered that similar question. As children, this inquisitive instinct has assisted in our learning and growth, as well as injury at times, but we continue to try to resolve most issues that still remain unanswered in our minds and hearts.

In this book, The Charlie I Knew, I will present as much of the information, factually, that I know from personal experience and have researched from those sources then and now available. Allow me to point out, that some of this information I still do not trust, and when such a situation exists, I will so indicate! I have spent untold hours, days, months and years, going through what I felt was pertinent, not to write this book, but in an attempt to satisfy my longing for an answer to the Why…plus, the Truth mandates it!

One thing I know for certain, there are people intimately related to this case, with whom I wish I had been able to visit, before and while I wrote this. Some of those who are still living may even choose to come forward later, or maybe not at all, but I must present what I have while I still can, as I feel much about Charlie was never properly presented to the public. And, though I never supported what he did and have no desire to attempt to exonerate him, I do contend that the truth needs to be told. You need to be able to draw your own conclusions based on the facts, which in far too many instances were misrepresented or never presented at all. And that’s yet another huge and all too far-reaching Why!

Enjoy reading about our friendship and adventures together, and please understand, we both were nothing more than red-blooded, American boys, serving our country and trying to make a better life for ourselves in the military, and this confused world we all live in. As to the Why, hopefully this will help you resolve some of that mystery!

Much has been written in books, professional journals, magazine articles and even extensively portrayed in TV shorts, along with a made for TV film with an accomplished actor overdramatically attempting to recreate Charlie Whitman. Unfortunately, much of that was conjecture, misleading and, in some cases, even false…or even just bad acting! But, I’m neither an acting critic, nor here to badmouth others.

My hope is to present to you what I know and what I’ve been able to find out over the past 48 years that hopefully will present you with the Truth!

We will start with the first day I met Charlie, a day much like the tragic assassination of our 35th President, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, neither of which I will ever forget. I plan to share with you my first impressions and introduce you piece by piece to both Charlie and I, so you can judge for yourself, who I am and who Charlie was…other than the merciless and monstrous killer he eventually ended up as.

We’ll journey through the storied halls of the Old Tome School for Boys, which has served as an initiation ground for many of the Midshipmen that matriculated through to our U. S. Naval Academy in nearby Annapolis, MD. On the flip side of the coin, you should enjoy going on Liberty with us up in quaint and historic Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Join us next as we orient ourselves on and around the Forty Acres that make up most of the sprawling University of Texas campus in Austin, Texas…our destination and so to speak home for the next 14 months.

Discover the true story behind the Deer in the Dorm and meet some of the wonderful friends we made there at the University. Along with the cute and vivacious young girl, Kathleen Leissner, to whom I later, at the request of her roommate, the girl I was dating, introduced Charlie. Six months later, she would become Charlie’s adoring, devoted and loving wife.

Learn some about Charlie’s penchant for gambling, motorcycles, knives, guns and hunting, all this while watching him struggle with how to make himself a better student and a more knowledgeable person.

Sadly, I make an abrupt departure from that campus life, as well as from all these other friends and colleagues, but Kathy, Charlie and I continue to maintain contact with one another. This will encompass their reactions to the Marine Corps’ very questionable handling of Charlie’s continued education, disenrollment and his sojourns at Camp LeJeune, and later.

During a break from my patrolling about on a nuclear powered, missile submarine, I take leave to visit Kathy and Charlie and introduce them to the new Lady in my life and some heart-to-heart discussions transpire between us all.

Back on the submarine, over halfway through our 3rd deterrent patrol, Crack, crack, crack…I’m suddenly introduced to the prospect that it may be Charlie atop the Tower shooting and maiming people. Here begins my own Who, What, Where, When and Why. I also attempt to present the facts as I knew them and discuss what I know/knew about the investigation(s) of this entire tragedy.

Attempting to clarify some more possible misconceptions, I’ll present some medical opinions about what was, or could have been, involved, both from a physiological standpoint and a psychological one. Then we’ll again ask one another, hopefully better informed this time, What Is THE Answer?

Enjoy!

Francis Joseph (just call me, Joe) Schuck, Jr.

CHAPTER 1

Meeting at Bainbridge

The Main Gate at NTC Bainbridge (circa 1960s)

(Photo courtesy of USNTC Bainbridge Museum)

O h…the Yankee ole flag is a dirty ole rag, found in a Chinese whorehouse was the melodic chant that suddenly erupted from the cubicle across the hallway and down one cube from mine in this mostly empty barracks, which was to be our home for the next several months.

That was provided, of course, each of us managed to cut the mustard. Here we were, finally, after a thorough Fleet-wide testing, evaluation and selection process, part of some 180 enlisted sailors and Marines, who had been chosen for the 1961 class of potential new officers tapped for NESEP, the Naval Enlisted Scientific Education Program. We were all amassing here this summer at the Naval Preparatory School in Bainbridge, Maryland for 10 weeks of final evaluation and a preliminary introduction to the rigors of class attendance, studying and school work organization, as well as the ever-present pop quizzes and exams.

The Navy and Marine Corps were both entering the new technological era of the 60s and finding that their number of career-designated officers, who had engineering and highly scientific backgrounds, was severely limited. What with nuclear power, guided missiles, more sophisticated avionics and battlefield computer-based systems emerging, to mention a few, each and every one of our military branches were finding the need to have more officers that would become service committed for longer periods of time, who possessed the skills to understand and manage these complex systems and their men and women who maintained and operated them. Private industry, with its higher salaries, was luring this breed of officer out of the service after their initial military obligations were complete.

This aerial photograph is looking across the roof of the Chapel eastward toward the Admin building and what, at one time, were this Naval Training Center’s Service School buildings for Radiomen, Yeomen and several other ratings in the Navy. The building in the center to the right of the Flagpole was the CPO Quarters, Club and Mess, with the red brick three story building above, being the HQ Building. The Enlisted Man’s (EM) Club, or Fiddler’s Green, as it was called, is just off the bottom left center of this picture at the end of the parking lot where you see the bright red car next to three white ones.

(Photo courtesy of USNTC Bainbridge Museum)

So, enter NESEP for the Navy and Marine Corps. Started in 1956, as NEASP, or Naval Enlisted Advanced School Program, this was hopefully a partial solution at the time for our Navy. The Marine Corps included some of its worthy candidates starting in 1958. Quite possibly, this was the answer to generating a component of technically oriented officers who would stay with their branch of service for a significant time period.

The term career designated meant that that airman, marine, sailor or soldier was, in all probability, going to remain in the military for at least 20 and quite possibly more years! Hence, the investment made in educating and training them would, as the service saw it, be more than repaid in services rendered over that long-term commitment. By taking petty officers and NCOs who already had maybe 4 or more years of service, the service was hoping to generate a cadre of technologically trained officers who would continue to staff its ranks for many years. They offered an exceptional opportunity for those selected to obtain their college degrees while still serving in the military in exchange for a prescribed obligation upon graduation and subsequent commissioning!

Such a deal! Getting paid to finish college, becoming a commissioned officer as well, and, by this time, having only a little more than ten years left, if that much, before being able to retire from the service! Well, here I was, starting up that wonderful ladder to success! Now, who in the world was down the hall ranting those rebel sentiments?

Barracks 522 was one of a complex of 14 still maintained barracks from the WWII that were situated on the northwestern side of the U. S. Naval Training Center, Bainbridge, MD. From here, we had easy access to the Mess Hall and other important base facilities like the Enlisted Men’s (EM) Club, as well as the Tome School area. This was where the Naval Preparatory School, which we would be attending, was located. The high ceilings and wooden floors echoed the now whistles of this new barracks mate.

Howdy, I said casually, as I entered his cubicle, one of about twenty walled off areas per floor. Each room (the side walls and the one along the hallway lacked about 4 feet of reaching the 12 foot tall ceilings) contained two bunk beds, four large standup wall lockers, two 6' wide tables, four straight backed metal chairs and several goose necked, fluorescent desk lamps. My name is Joe Schuck. Don’t you know that this here part of Maryland could be considered Yankee territory? Some folks might not take kindly to the Southern sentiments expressed in the lyrics of that song you were singing. Surprisingly, he had a very good voice, so I immediately figured that he had some musical background. Somewhat paradoxical for the athletic, well-built Marine who stood before me, unpacking his sea bag and suitcase into the wall locker he had chosen.

Guess that would just be their problem, he smiled back at me in sort of a mock Southern drawl. It’s just a song I picked up in the Corps, while down in Gitmo, and I definitely mean no harm by it or insult to anyone! I could tell already though that he was from the South. His bright blue eyes, short blonde crew cut and flashy white smile definitely gave me a sense of reassurance that the ditty was just that…a catchy tune one often hums, sings or whistles without much attention to what the actual content may be. Besides, he was right! It seemed that more and more now, people seemed to take things more seriously than they actually were intended to be. Of course, we were now representatives of our country, especially when in uniform and in public, and it was tantamount that we always present ourselves in a favorable light in all our words and actions. Especially, too, now that we were preparing to be officers and gentlemen!

I was just teasing, I replied, somehow knowing already that I liked this guy and we would become good friends.

Lance Corporal Charles Joseph Whitman, he offered, as he stacked his T-shirts and skivvies neatly in his new closet-to-be. 1-8-7-1-6-3-4, United States Marine Corps!

After a slight pause, But, you can call me Charlie! he smiled once again. Man, what an infectious smile it was!

Well, my middle name is also Joseph, but as I said earlier, most folks just call me Joe! I’m a Guided Missileman 3rd class in the Navy. A point I thought I should make, as I was in civvies, having arrived the night before, and had already done my unpacking and settling in earlier that day. It was Saturday afternoon, and I had also earlier visited the Chow Hall to partake of their brunch offering. The formal name was Mess Hall, but it was often described in different terms, some a bit more descriptive and often derogatory. You seem about finished here, so would you like to join me for a burger and a beer at the EM Club? I was plannin’ on checkin’ that out, as well as walkin’ over to where we’ll be attendin’ classes. I hear it is quite picturesque!

Sure, that sounds great! I almost got something for lunch in the airport in New York while waiting for my flight here, but they definitely charge so much for so little! he replied both enthusiastically and analytically. I soon noted that Charlie was very frugal, among other traits he had, which somewhat mirrored my own. Let me get my Bermudas and a sport shirt on, after I go down to the latrine and freshen up a bit. I’ll be back in a skosh! Cleanliness was also another favorable characteristic.

Sure thing! I’ll be over in my cube getting my billfold and making sure my locker is locked and everything is shipshape. We both should be getting new roommates moving in between now and Monday morning, when we have our first muster, I speculated, as I pondered on how long a skosh was.

Whistling down the hall he went, Dopp kit in one hand, twirling his towel with the other, as I turned into my cube to prepare for what was to be first on many exciting adventures together. I wondered if maybe he’d like to see if we couldn’t be cube mates. I’d ask him and we could check with the Master At Arms (MAA) of the barracks before we left. We needed to get directions to the EM Club anyway, though I received a rough map of the base when I checked in at the Admin Building the night before. As best as I could recall, it was located somewhere between the Main Gate and that Administration Building.

The Administration Building (Bldg. 601), U. S. Naval Training Center, Bainbridge, MD

(Photo courtesy of USNTC Bainbridge Museum)

The instructions, along with the map I had received, made clear that points north of the Mess Hall and that Admin building were OFF LIMITS to all of us. That was the Wave Boot Camp area (Camp Rogers) of the base, and though we shared the same dining facilities (that is the current more politically correct term), we in no way transgressed into those regions of the base. They also spoke of the Tome School’s Memorial Hall, which was to be where we assembled Monday morning at 0730 for our muster and further instructions. I had been looking forward to checking out the Tome School complex. Having gone to a rather unique college-prep type school back in Houston for my Junior High and High School years, I was intrigued about what one of the back East Prep Schools actually looked like. St. John’s School had been modeled after this type facility and most of the teachers there had at one time or another either attended or taught at similar institutions of higher learning, and some had even done both! Most all of them, in fact, had even received one collegiate degree or more at Eastern seaboard colleges.

Hey, you ready to go, Panyo? came the crisp voice from the comfortably attired figure standing in the hallway opening to my cubicle.

You betcha, I replied, as I snapped out of the trance I was in, joyfully remembering my fantastic six years at St. John’s! How ’bout we go an’ check with the MA (another short term for Master at Arms) and see if maybe one of us can move into the other’s cube first? You know, before both our cubes fill up, should they start pouring in here while we’re up at the EM Club and points beyond. I think you and I’d make really good roommates!

I already stopped and asked, Charlie smiled wryly. The Master At Arms office (at times called the MAA Shack) was up in the central part of the barracks near the front entrance and the heads. (The Marine Corps referred to the bathroom facilities as The Latrine, while we Navy men called it The Head!) The guy said that all of our billets have been pre-assigned as part of ‘The Plan’ and cannot be changed! So, where’s this EM Club? (See map on following page.)

Well, I recall, when I came in last night that the cab drove by it on the way from the Main Gate to Bldg. 601. I got this map that they gave me last night outta my locker and was looking it over while I waited for you. It’s over here past this big traffic circle thing sorta next to the Chapel, I said, as I pointed to the map I’d been given in my Welcome Aboard packet. Let’s head over toward the Chapel and ask directions from there, if we can’t figure it out once we get that far!

That sounds like a plan. Where you from, Joe? Charlie asked, as we went out the side door of the barracks, almost running into two 2nd Class Petty Officers, who apparently had their car in the parking lot there and were unloading their belongings.

Texas! I volunteered. Houston is where I call home. What about you?

Lake Worth, Florida, he returned, Probably never heard of it.

Yeah, you’re right. And I lived in Tampa, Key West and outside of Pensacola. My Dad is in the Air Force and before my Mom divorced him, we were stationed there with him.

Oh, so you’re a military brat, huh? What’s your Dad do in the Air Force?

He’s a bomber pilot…now a full Colonel…and, as best I know, he’s over in England still with SAC. How about you?

Well, my Dad has a big plumbing business down there in Lake Worth. That’s what I hope to do, get a degree in mechanical engineering and go back down there and help him expand his business even more! Say, how come you are in the Navy? Jesus, if my ole man were a bird Colonel in the Air Force, that’s definitely where I’d be!

USNTC, Bainbridge, MD, western portions, showing Tome School area. The First Regiment Drill Field was then the central part of the Wave Boot Camp. The EM Club