Sam Gibbons: Living History

Sam Gibbons was born during the Woodrow Wilson administration. He may be the only person who still calls Dick Greco “Dickie.” He will be 91 in a few weeks.

But the iconic congressman who rose to Ways and Means Committee Chairman of the U.S. House in the mid-1990s doesn’t get around much these days. Mainly up and down, thanks to the elevator at Canterbury Tower in South Tampa. A cane has been replaced by a walker. From elderly jaunty to nominally pedestrian.

But where it matters most, Gibbons is still as accommodating and nimble as ever. Recollections of parachuting into Normandy, orchestrating the founding of USF, accompanying President John F. Kennedy in Tampa, jawing with President Lyndon B. Johnson over Vietnam, throwing a righteous, congressional-committee fit over Medicare reform.  The details come cascading back. Complete with local-color sidebars and some classic quips, often self-deprecating, sometimes surprisingly wry. Any conversation is tour de force material.  

The man who never lost an election is a home-grown avatar of 20th-century American and Tampa history. He has helped make happen much of what most of us have merely heard and read about. Ironically for one known to get hands-on and feisty for a good cause, Gibbons invariably speaks in the first person plural. “Nobody ever accomplished anything alone,” he explains modestly.

That’s certainly manifested in his World War II experiences, which were notable enough to be referenced in Tom Brokaw’s “The Greatest Generation” and the second episode of “Band of Brothers.”

“Were we scared?” rhetorically asks Gibbons of that historic, D-Day drop where he acted as his plane’s jump master. “We were young and optimistic, but, no, we didn’t think we were immortal. But, yes, you always feel like you’ll be one of the survivors. But the actual jump? Hell, it was more of a relief. We were just glad to get out of that airplane.” 

Some background: Cpt. Gibbons and the other 600 members of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment had been practicing in Southern England near Newbury, about 60 miles west of London. But the real thing, come June 6, 1944, was nothing like the dress rehearsal.

For openers, it was at night (1:00 a.m.). And the plane had to keep its lights and radio off. They flew in an ultra tight formation. And Gibbons and his 17 fellow paratroopers descended from the impunity of 2,500 feet to the peril of 800 feet, well within enemy range. Recalls Gibbons: “You could hear small arms hitting the sides of the plane. And we have all this fuel on board.”

They landed in the Cotentin Peninsula near the Normandy town of Carentan on the main road between Cherbourg and Paris. In the midst of picturesque dairy farms and awaiting, unwelcoming Germans who had them outgunned.

What ensued was the loss of more than half of the 501st. The Americans would go on to establish, lose and restore a line of defense along a local river. Gibbons lived the aphorism of foxholes as atheist-challenged enclaves.  

“The Germans were probably 100 yards away. You do get kind of introspective when you’re being shot at,” deadpans Gibbons. “I remember praying. And thinking that they were probably praying too. They were, what, Lutherans, I guess. So they were probably praying to the same God. I figured it put God in an awkward place.”

The Americans were withdrawn by the end of June and returned briefly to England. When it was all over, Gibbons, by then a major, was awarded the Bronze Star and years later the French Medal of Valor.

But the Normandy crucible wasn’t the reason Gibbons was mentioned by name in Brokaw’s book. It was because his 40-pound backpack contained two cans of Schlitz beer that he had stuffed into his gas mask. He bayoneted them open and passed them around during a break in the Normandy action. (They were the last remnants of 24 cans of Schlitz given him by sailors aboard the American cruiser Quincy, a D-Day rehearsal participant.)

RFK, JFK, LBJ

After returning home in 1945, University of Florida-grad Gibbons went back to Gainesville to earn his law degree. A few years later the newly minted lawyer was running for the Florida Legislature–where he would earn $15 per (legislative-session) day. His friend John Germany served as campaign manager.

“Here was this jug-eared, enthusiastic, totally honest guy fresh out of the Army and law school who wanted to get involved,” recalls Germany, 87, retired partner with the Holland and Knight law firm.

A decade later, after stints in both Houses of the state Legislature, Gibbons was elected to Congress. By then he had already been the catalytic force behind the inception of USF and the extension of Tampa’s city limits.

“I love Sam, and I love his integrity,” says Germany. “When he went to Congress, he and (wife) Martha lived in that $11,000 house on Sterling Avenue. He retired (in 1997) to the same house. So many go up to Washington with no money and come out millionaires.”

Among those who Gibbons already knew in Washington were the Kennedy Brothers, John and Bobby. It was Bobby who had recruited Gibbons, then a state senator, in the summer of 1960 to help with John’s presidential campaign. “They were desperate for someone with political standing to help with this part of Florida,” says Gibbons. “I guess I qualified.”  He signed on.

As it turned out, Sam, Martha (who died in 2002 after 55 years of marriage) and their three children lived near Bobby and Ethel Kennedy and their family, by then well on its way to 11 children. The Gibbons and Kennedy kids used to play together and ride ponies at the Kennedys. Sam and Bobby stayed in touch after Kennedy became a senator from New York.

Gibbons has nothing but fond personal memories of Bobby Kennedy. “He was always polite,” says Gibbons. “Called me ‘Senator,’ when I was still in Tallahassee. I never saw that ‘ruthless side’ that was written about. He had a wife and all those children who loved him. He had loyal friendships.”

Given his involvement in John Kennedy’s campaign, Gibbons was particularly welcome at the JFK White House. “He was always nice to me,” recalls Gibbons. Among the more notable niceties: personal attention guaranteeing a $4-million, flood-control system near Tampa.

Gibbons was also with JFK just days before the president was assassinated in Dallas. Gibbons rode with Kennedy throughout his extended stay in Tampa on Nov. 18, 1963. They shared a motorcade limo as well as a stage at old Al Lopez Field.

The crowd that day, says Gibbons, was “enthusiastic.” So much so that it surprised him. “He wasn’t that popular before the election. But whole schools got off. Whole families got together. The president waved and shouted back. Even had the limo stop a few times to get out and talk with the crowds. I remember him saying: ‘Sam, you’ve sure got a lot of pretty girls in this city.'”

As for security, Gibbons says he wasn’t privy to details or rumors, although he noted that Secret Service agents rode on the presidential limo’s rear bumper throughout the motorcade. Nor was he overly aware of the beefed-up police presence. “I guess I was too busy waving to the crowd.”

Later that day Gibbons would accompany JFK to Miami and then back to Washington on Air Force One and then to the White House via helicopter.

Among the topics they broached on the return trip: JFK’s re-election chances. Especially the prospects of his presumed opponent: Sen. Barry Goldwater, the Arizona conservative. Kennedy’s assessment: “Don’t worry about Goldwater. We’ve got him well researched.”

So, does Gibbons think JFK would have been re-elected had it not been for Dallas? In a word: “Yes.”

Gibbons’ relationship with Kennedy’s successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, was more complicated. One time LBJ called him to the White House to talk about Gibbons, a member of the House Education/Labor Committee, playing a key role in anti-poverty legislation.

“Why me?” asked Gibbons. “Because you can speak Southern but vote Northern,” replied LBJ.

Another time LBJ invited him over to defuse his opposition to the Vietnam War and the means to fund it. It didn’t work.

“I said, ‘You haven’t got a plan. You can’t win. You’re grinding up people.’ He about threw me out. Held my arm all the way to the door.”

They later resumed a cordial relationship after Johnson left office amid the societal upheaval caused by Vietnam.

When it was time for Gibbons himself to leave office, he knew it, he underscores.

“You have to know when it’s time,” states Gibbons, who retired at 77. “When I was there, I would notice some of my older colleagues had become, in ways, an embarrassment to the institution. I didn’t want that to happen to me. I retired before I stumbled or made an ass of myself. I didn’t want to overstay.”

Gibbbons Outtakes

*American troops in harm’s way today: “It must really be hell. People look alike, dress alike. Which one is the enemy? They can walk right up to you and kill you. I’d hate to be a soldier today.”

*Bush family members: “I served with George Bush Sr. Smart. Likeable personality. Never saw him get mad at anyone. His wife, Barbara. She was smart too. But she was, well, tough as nails. Didn’t know Bush Jr. He was never around then.”

*His metal, noise-making “cricket” that American paratroopers used to communicate with in Normandy: “So many people asked me for it. I had to lie to so many. Finally I gave it to the Tampa Bay History Center (along with his medals).”

*What remains on America’s “to do” list that is invariably ignored: “I still say we should learn the metric system like the rest of the world, and we need a value-added tax.”

*Medical care: “The best medical system in the world? Well, first in cost. Go to Canada, for instance, and see if the average person likes their medical-care system. They love it. It’s mainly the vested interests in this country that say it’s terrible.”

*Toughest vote: “Martha was the hardest vote I ever got. Her support was critical. More than a few campaigns were run out of 940 Sterling Avenue.”

*Normandy ambience: “After about 30 hours without sleep, we had to take a break. The weather was perfect. Not a cloud–or a plane–in the sky. Surrounded by dairy farms. Perfect picnic weather except you were being shot at.”

*Sarah Palin: “I hope they nominate her. The voters will take her apart.

*Most dramatic societal change he has witnessed: “The status of women in America. Used to be that working women were secretaries, clerks, teachers and nurses. I think we had three women in law school at UF. Now less than half are men.”

*Most impressive public official he ever knew: “It’s still Ellsworth G. Simmons (who served 21 years–18 as chairman–on the Hillsborough County Commission and seven years on the School Board). He was a really good consensus builder, but even more important, he was a really good person.”

*Cuba: “Our policy with Cuba is stupid. The craziest I’ve ever seen. Yes, from the beginning we had real differences. But that should have been settled with the missile crisis. They’re not a threat. Sure, I’ve been cussed at by the Miami Cubans. But, no, I never considered it an actual threat.”

*Prospects of President Barack Obama: “I worry about Obama. That’s all I’ll say on that.”