Charles Nesbitt Wilson (1933 - 2010)

Born 1 Jun 1933 in Trinity, Trinity, Texas, United States

Ancestors

Died 10 Feb 2010 at age 76 in Lufkin, Angelina, Texas, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Mark Burch [send private message]

Biography

Charles Wilson is Notable.

Charles Nesbitt Wilson (June 1, 1933 – February 10, 2010) was a United States naval officer and former 12-term Democratic United States Representative from Texas's 2nd congressional district. Wilson is best known for leading Congress into supporting Operation Cyclone, the largest-ever Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) covert operation, which during the Carter and Reagan administrations supplied military equipment to the Afghan Mujahideen during the Soviet–Afghan War. His behind-the-scenes campaign was the subject of the non-fiction book Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History by George Crile III and the subsequent film Charlie Wilson's War, where he was portrayed by Tom Hanks.

Charlie Wilson, Texas congressman who funneled weapons to Afghanistan rebels in war against Soviets, dies at 76, Published: Feb. 11, 2010, 5:42 a.m. By The Associated Press | MassLive

DALLAS (AP) — Charlie Wilson, the fun-loving Texas congressman whose backroom dealmaking funneled millions of dollars in weapons to Afghanistan, allowing the country's underdog Mujahedeen rebels to beat back the mighty Soviet Red Army, died Wednesday. He was 76.

Wilson died at Memorial Medical Center-Lufkin after having difficulty breathing after attending a meeting in the eastern Texas town where he lived, said hospital spokeswoman Yana Ogletree. Wilson was pronounced dead on arrival, and the preliminary cause of death was cardiopulmonary arrest, she said.

Wilson represented Texas' 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House from 1973 to 1996 and was known in Washington as "Good Time Charlie" for his reputation as a hard-drinking womanizer. He once called former congresswoman Pat Schroeder "Babycakes," and tried to take a beauty queen with him on a government trip to Afghanistan.

Wilson was portrayed by Tom Hanks in the movie "Charlie Wilson's War," about Wilson's Afghanistan dealmaking.

Ogletree said Wilson is survived by his wife, Barbara, whom he married in 1999, and a sister.

Sources

• https://www.masslive.com/news/2010/02/charlie_wilson_texas_congressm.html

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Wilson_(Texas_politician)

• https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/wilson-charles-nesbitt-charlie

• VOA Obit

• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/47957894/charles-nesbitt-wilson

• Charlie Wilson's War on IMDB

• "Texas Birth Certificates, 1903-1935," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K6GY-7JH : 1 March 2021), Wilmuth Nesbitt in entry for Charles Nesbitt Wilson, 01 Jun 1933; citing Trinity, Trinity, Texas, United States, certificate 48792, Texas Department of Health, Austin; FHL microfilm 2,283,114.