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[R.I.P.] Charlie Wilson

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kansaswhig

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Former Rep. Charles Wilson Dies at 76

DALLAS — Charlie Wilson, the former congressman from Texas whose funding of Afghanistan's resistance to the Soviet Union was chronicled in the movie and book "Charlie Wilson's War," died Wednesday. He was 76.

Wilson died at Memorial Medical Center-Lufkin after he started having difficulty breathing while 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 the 2nd District in east Texas 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.

Actor Tom Hanks portrayed Wilson in the 2007 movie about Wilson's efforts to arm Afghan mujahedeen during Afghanistan's war against the Soviet Union in the 1980s. Wilson, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, helped secure money for weapons, plunging the U.S. into a risky venture against the world's other superpower.
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Oh man, that' really a sad loss imo. Wilson was quite a character in a funny-good way.
 
I didn't know anything about him until the movie "Charlie Wilson's War". He was *quite* a character, it seems. If he was anything like the movie, I like him!

RIP Charlie Wilson, and thankyou for your sincere service to our nation.
 
He was from my area of Texas and one of the biggest characters you ever saw, more like LBJ than Tom Hanks (although the movie was pretty good). He was 6'6" and had one of those huge booming voices.

I had only seen him in a few restaurants and didn't know about his antics until the book Charlie Wilson's War came out.

Here's a few pictures the local paper ran... the first one with his wife:

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Rest in peace, Charlie
 
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A great American. Too bad they make'em like that anymore. Sleep well, Congressman.
 
Moderator's Warning:
Just because there were issues in the last one making this clear right off. This is a [RIP] thread and as such negative or insulting comments should be kept out of it. Just a reminder before the thread gets majorly rolling
 
Zyphlin said:
Moderator's Warning:
Just because there were issues in the last one making this clear right off. This is a [RIP] thread and as such negative or insulting comments should be kept out of it. Just a reminder before the thread gets majorly rolling
Click to expand...

I was honestly wishing Charlie well in the next life. He was a great American!

:)
 
NP Vader, wasn't directed at anyone as much as it was a preemptive thing.

And this is sad news. I echo the thoughts of those in this thread
 
Zyphlin said:
NP Vader, wasn't directed at anyone as much as it was a preemptive thing.

And this is sad news. I echo the thoughts of those in this thread
Click to expand...

Ooohrah, Zyph!

Would you mind lowering the DP flag to half-mast?

:mrgreen:
 
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