DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker in Trinity County tells this story, and I'm gonna do my best by it. Now, Trinity, Texas has sent a lot of sons out into the wide world, but few of them traveled quite as far — or in quite as many directions — as Charles Nesbitt Wilson. Charlie, as everybody called him.
Born right there in Trinity on June 1, 1933, he walked the same public school hallways that half the county did, graduated Trinity High School in 1951, spent one semester over at Sam Houston State University, and then — here's where the road takes its first sharp turn — he got himself appointed to the United States Naval Academy. Earned a B.S. in engineering. That's not a small thing.
From 1956 to 1960, Wilson served as a naval officer, working his way up to lieutenant and gunnery officer aboard the USS John W. Weeks, a Navy destroyer. And if you thought that was as serious as it gets, think again — he was then assigned to the Pentagon, attached to an intelligence unit with one job: evaluating the Soviet Union's nuclear forces.
The man was sitting at the edge of the Cold War with a clipboard and a clearance. Then John F. Kennedy came calling — well, his 1960 presidential campaign did — and Wilson volunteered.
That was apparently all it took to light the fire. He went home, won his home district in 1961, became a state representative, climbed up to state senator, and then in 1973, got himself elected to the United States House of Representatives from Texas' Second Congressional District. He secured reelection eleven times.
Eleven. Now, you want to know what Charlie Wilson is perhaps best known for? It's a story that involves the CIA, the mountains of Afghanistan, and the largest covert operation in Central Intelligence Agency history — Operation Cyclone.
Under both the Carter and Reagan administrations, Wilson led Congress in supporting that operation, which funneled military equipment to the Afghan Mujahadeen during the Soviet-Afghan War. We're talking anti-aircraft weapons, paramilitary officers from the CIA's Special Activities Division — the whole weight of a superpower, moving quietly through back channels that Wilson helped keep open. But don't let that shadow fall over everything else he did, because back home on domestic matters, Wilson was a different kind of fighter.
He continuously championed individuals' rights, especially for minorities and women. He sought, tirelessly the marker says, to increase Medicare and Medicaid funding for the elderly and the underprivileged. And in 1974, he and Bob Eckhardt put forward a bill in Congress to make the Big Thicket a national preserve.
Wilson retired from Congress in October 1996, though he wasn't exactly done — he became a lobbyist for Pakistan after that. He died on February 10, 2010. And he is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
A boy from Trinity, Texas. Destroyer gunnery officer. State legislator.
Eleven-term congressman. Architect of the biggest covert operation the CIA ever ran. They don't make the markers big enough for some people.
What the marker says
Born in Trinity on June 1, 1933, Charles Nesbitt "Charlie" Wilson served as a United States naval officer, a state legislator and a United States Representative from Texas' Second Congressional District. Growing up, Wilson attended Trinity public schools. Upon graduation from Trinity High School in 1951, he spent one semester at Sam Houston State University before being appointed to the United States Naval Academy, earning a B.S. degree in engineering. Wilson served in the Navy from 1956 to 1960, earning the rank of lieutenant and gunnery officer on navy destroyer USS John W. Weeks. He was assigned to the Pentagon as part of an intelligence unit evaluating the Soviet Union's nuclear forces. After volunteering for John F. Kennedy's 1960 presidential campaign, Wilson pursued a career in politics. He won his home district in 1961, becoming a state representative and later a state senator. In 1973, Wilson was elected to the United States House of Representative and secured reelection 11 times. Wilson is perhaps best known for leading Congress in supporting Operation Cyclone, the largest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) covert operation, which under the Carter and Reagan administrations supplied military equipment, including anti-aircraft weapons and paramilitary officers, from their Special Activities Division to the Afghan Mujahadeen during the Soviet-Afghan War. On domestic issues, Wilson continuously championed for individuals' rights, especially minorities and women. He also tirelessly sought to increase Medicare and Medicaid funding for the elderly and underprivileged. In 1974, Wilson and Bob Eckhardt proposed a bill in Congress making the Big Thicket a national preserve. Wilson retired from Congress in October 1996, but became a lobbyist for Pakistan. He died on February 10, 2010, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. (2017)