82R16657 MGR-D
By: Hilderbran H.R. No. 1064
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The State of Texas lost a distinguished native son
with the death of Charles T. McDowell of Arlington on July 8, 2007;
and
WHEREAS, Born on November 23, 1921, to Jesse Calvin and Alva
Lange McDowell, Charles Taylor McDowell was raised in San Saba; he
graduated from Texas A&M University in 1943 and attended officer
candidate school at Fort Benning, Georgia, before being
commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army; a
master parachutist, he fought in both the European and Pacific
theaters during World War II and later served in the occupational
forces in Japan; and
WHEREAS, An information and education officer as well as a
professor, director, and commandant of Tokyo Army College in the
late 1940s, Dr. McDowell also taught Russian language, history,
economics, geography, and political science in a classified joint
military/civilian intelligence agency in the 1950s before serving
as an instructor in Taiwan, Korea, and Hawaii; he continued his
studies through various defense intelligence programs and earned a
master's degree from Columbia University in 1953 and a doctorate
from Texas A&M in 1956; and
WHEREAS, Dr. McDowell further served his country as an
intelligence officer with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and worked
closely with the president of the United States to evaluate
military threats; he was a custodian of the "nuclear football,"
utilized by presidents to authorize the use of nuclear weapons when
away from fixed command centers; moreover, he served as a
diplomatic courier and USSR specialist, as well as a foreign
service officer for the state department in the former Soviet
Union, Europe, Asia, and North Africa; and
WHEREAS, Eventually retiring from the military at the rank of
colonel, Dr. McDowell earned numerous honors for his notable tenure
in the armed forces, including the Bronze Star Medal and the Army
Commendation Medal, both with oak leaf cluster, and the Combat
Infantry Badge, along with medals recognizing service in World War
II and the Korean and Vietnam conflicts; he was described by General
William C. Westmoreland as an outstanding officer; and
WHEREAS, Dr. McDowell had an equally illustrious career in
civilian life, spending more than four decades, in total, at The
University of Texas at Arlington; he first joined the school in
1960, and after serving as senior area administrator for President
Lyndon B. Johnson's Job Corps program, he returned in 1966 as
assistant to the president of the university and then dean of
student life; a teacher of Russian, he became the chair of the
department of foreign languages and linguistics as well as the
founder and director of the Center for Post-Soviet and East
European Studies; and
WHEREAS, The first chair of the faculty senate at UT
Arlington, Dr. McDowell was reelected to that post six times; he
was an advisor to the Alpha Chi honor society and led annual summer
study abroad programs in Russia; he was recognized as an
outstanding teacher with awards from UT Arlington and its
chancellor's council, and he was inducted into the school's
military science hall of honor; after his death, generous donors
endowed a new center at the university in his memory, the Charles
T. McDowell Center for Critical Languages and Area Studies; and
WHEREAS, Over the course of his life, Dr. Charles McDowell
met 10 U.S. presidents, traveled to Russia more than 50 times, and
ignited the curiosity and interest of countless young people, and
he will long be remembered for his notable contributions to the
state and nation; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of Dr. Charles Taylor
McDowell and his exemplary record of service to the people of Texas
and the United States.