Sam Gibbons

Sam Gibbons
Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee
In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 1997
Preceded by	Bill Archer
Succeeded by	Charles Rangel
Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee
In office June 1, 1994 – January 3, 1995
Preceded by	Dan Rostenkowski
Succeeded by	Bill Archer
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida
In office January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1997
Preceded by	District established
Succeeded by	Jim Davis
Constituency	10th district (1963–1967) 6th district (1967–1973) 7th district (1973–1993) 11th district (1993–1997)
Member of the Florida State Senate
In office 1959–1962
Member of the Florida House of Representatives
In office 1953–1958
Personal details
Born	(1920-01-20)January 20, 1920 Tampa, Florida, U.S.
Died	October 10, 2012(2012-10-10) (aged 92) Tampa, Florida, U.S.
Party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Martha Hanley Betty King Culbreath
Children	3 (including Mark)
Education	University of Florida School of Law
Profession	Attorney
Military service
Service	United States Army
Years of service	1941–1945
Rank	Major
Unit	501st Parachute Infantry Regiment
Wars	World War II
Awards	Bronze Star Medal European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal Combat Infantryman Badge Legion of Honor (Chevalier) (France)

Samuel Melville Gibbons (January 20, 1920 – October 10, 2012) was an American attorney and politician from Florida. A United States Army veteran of World War II, Gibbons served in the Florida State House of Representatives and Florida State Senate. A liberal Democrat, he represented the Tampa area in the U.S. House of Representatives for over 30 years.

Early life

Gibbons was born in Tampa, Florida on January 20, 1920, a son of Melville Gunby Gibbons and Jessie Kirk (Cralle) Gibbons. He attended Tampa's Roosevelt Elementary School, which later named its auditorium after him. He graduated from H. B. Plant High School in 1938. Gibbons attended the University of Florida, where he was a member of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps and vice president of his Alpha Tau Omega fraternity chapter, but left before graduating so he could enter the military for World War II.

Military career

Gibbons joined the United States Army as a second lieutenant in late 1941. He attained the rank of captain in the 101st Airborne before entering combat in June 1944. At 1:00 a.m. on D-day, June 6, 1944, Gibbons, a member of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, parachuted into France near Carentan, France, on the Cotentin 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 of Band of Brothers. On June 30 the 101st was withdrawn to England becoming the first battle-tested troops to return. He was later awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his actions in Normandy.

Gibbons and the rest of the 101st went on to successfully take the first bridge in Operation Market Garden (described in Cornelius Ryan's book A Bridge Too Far). In December 1944 the 101st was in reserve when orders came down to load up on trucks and move to Bastogne to 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, Gibbons was promoted to major; however, a communications delay prevented Gibbons from learning of his promotion until after he had been honorably discharged. Upon returning home to Florida he authored a memoir of his wartime service, I Was There. Gibbons was awarded the French Legion of Honor (Chevalier) in 2004 at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial during the 60th anniversary of D-day.

Political life

After leaving the army, Gibbons attended the University 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.

Gibbons was a member of the Democratic Party and he served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1953 to 1958. While in the state legislature, he spearheaded the effort to create the University of South Florida. He then served in the Florida Senate from 1959 to 1962 after beating the incumbent Paul Kickliter.

He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1962 from a newly created district based in Tampa after defeating segregationist Sumter de Leon Lowry Jr. in the Democratic primary and runoff elections, and was reelected 16 times. Gibbons voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but in favor of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Civil 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 Representative Jim Davis, whom he had endorsed as his successor.

Gibbons was acting chair of the House Ways and Means Committee from 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. Gibbons died in Tampa on October 10, 2012, aged 92. He was buried at Myrtle Hill Memorial Park in Tampa. The United States Courthouse at 801 North Florida Avenue in Tampa was named in his honor.

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
• Appearances on C-SPAN