Authors: Gary M. Lavergne

Tags: #History, #United States, #General, #State & Local, #Southwest (AZ; NM; OK; TX), #True Crime, #Murder, #test

A Sniper in the Tower (9 page)

Page 23

make about the university's landmark Tower. "A person could stand off an army from atop of it before they got to him." The remark was followed by a description of how he would like to go to the observation deck and shoot people. As they gazed at the Tower, it never occurred to Schuck that Charlie could be serious.
¹⁷Most of his acquaintances would conclude that Charlie thought that kind of remark was funny.

Kathy Leissner led a much less eventful dorm life. All indications were that she became a model student. She did spend enough time with Charlie Whitman, however, to witness a number of events that could have had serious consequences. One incident involved Charlie, Kathy, and three others in a car heading for a firing range west of Austin where Charlie wanted to try out a pistol he had just purchased. At the intersection of 21st and Red River Streets in Austin, he directed some pejorative remarks at a black man who appeared to be intoxicated. Then he pointed the pistol at the pedestrian about twenty feet away. John Daigle, a friend seated in the back seat with Charlie and Kathy, recalled that the pedestrian, rather than being intimidated, reached into his sweater as if to retrieve his own weapon. Kathy and the occupants ducked as the car sped away. Daigle and the others complained to Charlie that it was a stupid thing to do. Charlie thought that it was funny.
¹⁸

Unlike Charlie, Kathy focused on her goals and remained studious, especially after Charlie was forced to leave Austin to return to active duty with the marines. Her degree program required her to complete courses on the university campus and then move on to an elementary or high school for a semester of student teaching under the careful watch of an experienced supervising teacher. Kathy was assigned to student teach at Sidney Lanier High School in north Austin where she completed her certification for teaching science in secondary schools in Texas.

Although she was very youngonly three or four years older than the students of Lanier's senior class of 1965Kathy's colleagues and administrators found her to be very mature and professional. As a student teacher Kathy became successful and popular with stu-

Page 24

Kathy Whitman. She had a full smile
which created a small dimple on her
right cheek. Her hairdo betrayed her
youth; unlike that of any of the other
faculty women, her short blonde flip
resembled the style worn by many of
the senior girls.
Texas Department of
Public Safety Files.

dents, so much so that she accepted a position as a full-time faculty member for the next school year. She became close friends with several of the faculty members, like Eva Bayne, a typing teacher, and Mayda Tupper, the speech and drama teacher.
¹⁹

Kathy taught biology to sophomores, and her success and popularity with students as a student teacher carried over to her professional tenure.
²⁰Consistent with tradition, as a first-year teacher she was not assigned the sponsorship of any clubs, but she worked diligently to establish herself as a professional. The
1966 Viking
, the Lanier annual, had only one picture of her; it was, of course, in the faculty section. She was very feminine and had a full smile which created a small dimple on her right cheek. Her hairdo betrayed her youth; unlike that of any of the other faculty women, her short blonde flip resembled the style worn by many of the senior girls.

III

One of Charlie's college English teachers, Roger C. Williams, described him as having "all the standard appellations of a high school

Page 25

yearbook. He was easily the 'Best Looking,' 'Friendliest,' and 'Most Mature.'"
²¹In reality, during his first semester at the University of Texas at Austin, Charlie fell into academic trouble. With the exception of an "A" in algebra, he earned dismal grades. He failed general chemistry, made a "D" in an introductory economics course, and a "C" in three other courses. The good grade in algebra probably resulted from the refresher courses he had taken in Bainbridge, Maryland, during the first and most conscientious phase of his marine career. Clearly, during this second phase as a UT-Austin student, he studied little or not at all.

Charlie did not seem to appreciate the heavy investment the United States Marine Corps was making in him or the fact that the Corps expected him to become a commissioned officer. He was not under constant supervision and seldom took orders. He demonstrated no intrinsic motivation to succeed. He did not fit the NESEP profile of the brightest and the best, nor did he demonstrate conduct becoming of a potential officer. Charlie's grades did improve slightly and his tempestuous conduct tempered after his marriage to Kathy, but the marines did not consider his performance acceptable. During the 1963 spring semester, after a year and a half in Austin, he had his scholarship withdrawn by the marines. He responded by unceremoniously dropping out of the university on 12 February 1963 and returning to active duty by rejoining the 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
²²He re-entered a life of regimentation and taking orders, but this time he would not find comfort. Rather than volunteering in order to leave behind someone he hated, this time he left behind someone he loved. Kathy remained in Austin to complete her degree program.

On 17 March 1966 Charlie attempted to recapture his NESEP scholarship, but the marines summarily dismissed his request. He became embittered and formed a hatred for the marines, especially after he was informed that his time spent in Austin would not count as part of his active duty enlistment. The return to active duty was quickly implemented, and in July Charlie was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal.
²³The promotion was likely based on an excellent record at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the fact that he was once a NESEP scholar.

Page 26

The marines would soon conclude that the advancement was premature. In this third phase of Charlie's marine career, he became a troublemaker. His immaturity resurfaced. This phase, however, included fighting. On 7 October 1964 he and a friend named Edward Smith were "jumped" by four or five other marines. Charlie had been thrown to the ground and kicked about the head and face. His injuries required treatment for headaches and dizziness and he was taken to the camp dispensary and at 1:50
A.M.
was given aspirin. He still considered himself a premier gambler, and his fascination with firearms could not be satisfied by government-issued guns. By late 1963, he got himself into serious trouble with the marines. He faced court martial on 26 November 1963 for gambling, usury, and the unauthorized possession of a non-military pistol. Charlie found a marine court martial far more difficult to deal with than a domineering father, a Texas game warden, or a helpless poker player in an Austin dorm. Testimony established he had threatened to "kick the teeth" out of another marine for failure to pay a thirty-dollar debt for which he demanded fifteen dollars of interest. On 27 November 1963 the guilty verdict on all counts resulted in a sentence of thirty days of confinement and ninety days of hard labor. Additionally, his rank reverted to private.
²⁴

While awaiting court martial Charlie began to transform his notebooks into a crude diary which began, "This book belongs to CPL. Charles J. Whitman." He would later scratch out CPL and write PVT. He clearly worried more about how Kathy would react to his being in the brig than any punishment the marines had in store for him:


7 Nov 63Was made a "min" prisoner in Dorm #5 today, also received 3 letters. . . . I haven't heard from Kathy since she found out where I am. I am sure anxious to see how she feels and what she has to say, I hope she is "keeping her chin up."


8 Nov 63Went on first wking [sic] party today. Received my watch and a letter from Kathy, she seems pretty disgusted with me. I wish I could talk with her.

Page 27

"She seems pretty disgusted with me" was the first instance on record that Kathy ever got angry or grew weary with Charlie.


9 Nov 63Received a call from home today. I am in very high spirits, I am glad that Kathy is only worried about my gambling, I will never gamble at anything again. I hope Kathy will believe and trust in this declaration.

Charlie apparently meant it; from that moment on there are no recorded episodes of serious gambling in his life.


10 Nov 63Received a call from Kathy at 1510 [3:10 P.M. ], it was fabulous, she sounds wonderful. I love her so much she sounded so pitiful when she cried that we were allowed to talk more than 3 minutes. It is so good to know that she loves and understands me. I will love her until the day I die. She is definitely the best thing I have in life, or as I say, "My Most Precious Possession." ²⁵

He now hated the marines and was desperate to get out. There was some confusion concerning his failure as a NESEP scholar and whether it meant that he was bound to the marines for five years after his return to Camp Lejeune. Significantly, Charlie turned to his father, C. A. Whitman, for help. Charlie's notes make it clear that the elder Whitman sought the intercession of Florida's Senator Spessard Holland, Congressman Paul Rogers and the Secretary of the Navy for an early discharge for his troubled son. In his notes from this time period, he referred to C. A. as "Daddy"; there are no denigrating references to his father. At that time one of Charlie's close friends, Edward Smith, knowing of the father and son's joint efforts to get Charlie out of the marines, assumed they were friendly.
²⁶

Writing in his notebook gave him comfort, and he would turn to writing as a source of solace for the rest of his life. He could write about deep, heavy topics: "I have thoughts [sic] very much about the concept of 'death.' When it overtakes me someday I must remember to observe closely and see if it is as I thought it would be."
²⁷Or, he could descend into the absurd: "Unless it is definitely advan-

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