Early Life and Naval Career
Wilson was born in the small town of Trinity, Texas, to Charles Edwin Wilson, an accountant for a local timber company, and Wilmuth Wilson, a local florist, on June 1, 1933. Wilson had one younger sister, Sharon Wilson Allison, former chair of Planned Parenthood and president of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, who currently resides in Waco, Texas.
Growing up, Wilson attended Trinity public schools and, upon graduation from Trinity High School in 1951, he attended one semester at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas before being appointed to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. While at Annapolis, Wilson earned more demerits than any other student in the history of the academy. Despite the excessive number of demerits Wilson graduated eighth from the bottom of his class in 1956 with a B. S. in Engineering, specializing in electronics.
Between 1956 and 1960, Wilson served in the United States Navy, attaining the rank of lieutenant and gunnery officer on a destroyer. While in the Navy, Wilson's commanders reported that he was the "best officer on ship but the worst in port." Wilson's exploits in port did not impede his career in the Navy and he was assigned to the Pentagon as part of an intelligence unit that evaluated the Soviet Union's nuclear forces.
Read more about this topic: Charlie Wilson (Texas Politician)
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