The RFK Files (Book Two) A Non-Fiction book by Robert Helliger

Chapter Seventeen-Charles Whitman-The All American Sniper; 1966

~~~Uncut Quote: "I talked with a Doctor once, for about two hours, and tried to convey to him my fears that I felt come, <sic, probably meant "some">, overwhelming violent impulses. After one visit, I never saw the Doctor again, and since then have been fighting my mental turmoil alone, and seemingly to no avail", US sniper killer and US Marine, Charles Joseph Whitman, (June 24, 1941 – August 1, 1966), unquote,~~~

ALL AMERICAN BOY

I

The deadly sniper's bullets shot out from the Texas Bell Tower...The blonde coloured ex-Marine, Charles Joseph Whitman, fired everywhere...as he ignored the screams of the victims...as the blood flooded the streets.

II

We, in Australia, have killers. Martin Bryant; Ivan Milat; the Snowtown killers. And, in America, the Land of the Free, has so many serial killers that to name all of them would be too long. In short, in the 1960's America, a boy decided to shoot...and shoot...and shoot. And the chasm of violence, (instead of peace), increased the fear.

III

Whitman, who grew up in Lake Worth, Florida, lived a normal existence. His father, Adolphus "C.A." Whitman, Junior, and his Mom, Margaret E. (Hodges), were also normal. But Charles was not normal; Charles was a true "American Boy", but, unlike good boys and girls, who followed a path to the US Marines, (which, for patriots), was the ultimate honour.

      But, in the sour filled climate of Vietnam, Whitman brought the War to the streets...instead of the jungles of Vietnam. And he murdered because he wanted to quell the, quote, "Violent thoughts in his head", unquote.

IV

Whitman's old man was raised in a Savannah, Georgia orphanage. It was rife with abuse and violence; it was so rife that, by 1940, aged 17, he was married to Margaret. But, because Whitman Senior, lashed out at his family, Charles Whitman's later violence was in his DNA. And, so, the era of "Flower Power" was over...and the era of assassinations took over.

V

Whitman, whose IQ was 139, and his brothers were Altar Boys, (at the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church). His father loved guns. Lots of guns. And, with the NRA, (The National Rifle Association), and other Right Wing groups, promoting America's gun culture, Whitman was a crack shot by 16, (in the year 1957)-the same year that ghoulish killer Ed Gein was arrested.

      Whitman was a Boy Scout member. Having accrued a lot of "Merit Badges", he became a "Eagle Scout", (September of 1953, aged 12); "He, (Charlie), could plug (shoot) the eye out of a squirrel by the time he was sixteen", his father told everyone.

VI

Whitman did his paper route for the Miami Herald. From September 1, 1955 up to June 1959, Whitman graduated from  St. Ann's High School; (West Palm Beach, Florida); Whitman got a new Harley-Davison motorcycle. By 1957, he crashed the motorcycle. After his appendectomy, everything was fine. But, by 1958, aged 17, Whitman developed a blood clot that was near the teenagers' left testicle. After delicate surgery, he was fine. By June 1959, he joined the United States Marine Corps, (USMC). He was 18.

VII

By June 6, 1959, Whitman was at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. When his father attempted to call the US Government complaining that his son, quote, "Shouldn't go to the Military", unquote, his protests went unheard.

VIII

Whitman also was at Parris Island. And the first part of the Whitman story now ends here.

~~~

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