Sam Gibbons

Sam Gibbons
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromFlorida
In office January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1997
Preceded by	District created
Succeeded by	Jim Davis
Constituency	10th district(1963–67) 6th district(1967–73) 7th district(1973–93) 11th district(1993–97)
Member of theFlorida State Senate
In office 1959–1962
Member of theFlorida House of Representatives
In office 1953–1958
Personal details
Born	Sam Melville Gibbons (1920-01-20)January 20, 1920 Tampa, Florida,U.S.
Died	October 10, 2012(2012-10-10)(aged 92) Tampa, Florida, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Martha Hanley Betty King Culbreath
Education	University of Florida School of Law
Profession	Attorney

Sam Melville Gibbons(January 20, 1920 – October 10, 2012) was an American politician from thestateofFlorida,who served in theFlorida State House of Representatives,Florida State Senate,and theU.S. House of Representatives.He represented the city ofTampain Congress for over 30 years.

Early life and education

Gibbons was born inTampa, Floridaon January 20, 1920. He went toRoosevelt Elementary Schoolwhen he was a young child. The current-day auditorium is named after him. He graduated fromH. B. Plant High School,where he was part of JROTC, and then went on to theUniversity of Florida.After military service duringWorld War II,Gibbons attended theUniversity of Florida School of Law,graduating in 1947. He then joined four generations of his family practicing law in Tampa. He went on to marry Martha Hanley, and have three sons; Clifford Sam, Mark Hanley, and Timothy Melville. After 55 years of marriage, his wife died of cancer in 2002; Gibbons then married a recently widowed friend, Betty King Culbreath.

Military career

After the outbreak ofWorld War II,Gibbons joined theUnited States Armyas asecond lieutenantin late 1941. He attained the rank ofcaptainin the101st Airbornebefore entering combat in June 1944. At 1:00 a.m. onD-day,June 6, 1944, Captain Gibbons,501st Parachute Infantry Regiment,101st Airborne Division,arrived by parachute nearCarentan,France,on theCotentin Peninsula.On June 13, 1944, the main German forces counterattacked south of Carentan, in a battle between German tanks and the American paratroopers lasting all day, 6 am to 10 pm, the paratroopers gave ground, defending in depth, and bent but did not break before restoring the pre-dawn line of defense. Of the 600 paratroopers that began that day fewer than 400 soldiers remained. Gibbons could count a dozen burning tanks from his view of the battlefield. The battle was portrayed in episode 2 ofBand of Brothers.On June 30 the 101st was withdrawn to England becoming the first battle-tested troops to return. He was later awarded theBronze Starfor his actions inNormandy.

Gibbons and the rest of the101stwent on to successfully take the first bridge inOperation Market Garden(described inCornelius Ryan's bookA Bridge Too Far). In December 1944 the 101st was in reserve when orders came down to load up on trucks and move toBastogneto hold and await resupply. Against very long odds the 101st held successfully with dwindling supplies, once famously telling the German commander "Nuts" in response to a surrender request. Several movies have been made concerning the "Battle of the Bulge."The 101st moved on to lead the way into Germany and eventually take Hitler's Eagle's Nest before meeting up with the advancing Red Army. Gibbons served in the European campaign until the end of the war. Shortly before German forces surrendered, Capt. Gibbons was promoted tomajor;however, a communications delay prevented Gibbons from learning of his promotion until after he had beenhonorably discharged.Upon returning home toFloridahe authored a memoir of his wartime service,I Was There.Gibbons was awarded the French Medal of Valor in 2004 at theNormandy American Cemetery and Memorialduring the 60th anniversary ofD-day.

Political life

Gibbons was a member of theDemocratic Partyand he served in theFlorida House of Representativesfrom 1953 to 1958. While in the state legislature, he spearheaded the effort to create theUniversity of South Florida.He then served in theFlorida Senatefrom 1959 to 1962 after beating the incumbentPaul Kickliter.

He was elected to theUnited States House of Representativesin 1962 from a newly created district based in Tampa after defeating segregationistSumter de Leon Lowry Jr.in the Democratic primary and runoff elections, and was reelected 16 times. Gibbons voted against theCivil Rights Act of 1964,but in favor of theVoting Rights Act of 1965and theCivil Rights Act of 1968.The district changed numbers three times during his tenure, from the 10th (1963–1967) to the 6th (1967–1973) to the 7th (1973–1993) to the 11th (1993–1997). He usually skated to reelection in what was generally reckoned as the only Democratic bastion on Florida's Gulf Coast. However, in 1992, he was held to only 52 percent of the vote by Republican Mark Sharpe. Two years later, he defeated Sharpe again, only winning by 4,700 votes.

With Sharpe priming for yet another rematch in 1996, Gibbons opted not to run for an 18th term. He thus retired having never been defeated in 44 years as an elected official. He was succeeded by State RepresentativeJim Davis,whom he had endorsed as his successor.

Gibbons was acting chairman of theHouse Ways and Means Committeefrom 1994 until the Democrats lost control of the House in 1995. Prior to leading the full committee, Gibbons chaired the subcommittee on trade. He was much more supportive of trade liberalization throughout his career than most House Democrats, who have leaned toward protectionism since the early 1970s.

Gibbons had a few verbal showdowns with the newly elected Republican congress during his last term. During a taped Ways and Means Committee hearing, after being denied the opportunity to speak several times, Gibbons stormed out of the room shouting about how the Democrats were being railroaded and given no time to speak. He compared the new Republicans to dictators and shouted that he had "to fight you guys 50 years ago," referring to Nazi Germany in World War II.

He retired from office in 1997. The United States Courthouse at 801 North Florida Avenue in Tampa was named in his honor.

Death

Gibbons died October 10, 2012, aged 92.He was interred at Myrtle Hill Memorial Park in Tampa.

External links

• Biographical Directory of the US Congress
• Gibbons & Company
• USF Oracle: "Creating a local alternative for learning"
• The University of South Florida Tampa Library Special & Digital Collections maintains the Papers of Congressman Sam Gibbons
• AppearancesonC-SPAN