John Goodwin Tower
N 32° 52.125 W 096° 46.673
14S E 707909 N 3638925
United States Senator, who served the State of Texas for 24-years
Waymark Code: WMEWC
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 06/14/2006
Views: 42
John Goodwin Tower was born on September 29, 1925 in Houston, Texas. Even in his youth he was active in politics, passing out campaign material for Senator Ralph Yarborough. He served in the Pacific during World War II, and was discharged as seaman first class. Following his military service he returned to Texas and resumed his interest n politics. In 1960, he was chosen as the Republican candidate for the United States Senate against Lyndon Johnson. Tower lost the election to Johnson despite receiving the support of several of the states top democrats. When Johnson became Vice-President as special election was held to fill his senate seat, John Tower ran again and became the first republican to represent Texas since reconstruction. Senator Tower won reelection to the senate in 1966, 1972 and 1978. Senator Tower retired from the Senate on January 3, 1985 after 24-years of service. Following his retirement, he was appointed to several committees’ by Presidents Reagan and Bush, including being the chief United States negotiator at the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks in Geneva. In 1989 Senator Tower was nominated by President Bush to become Secretary of Defence however he was not comfirmed by the senate because some thought he had too many ties to defense contractors.
On April 5, 1991, Tower was killed along with 23 other people in the crash of Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311 on approach for landing at St. Simons Island, Georgia. Also killed in the crash were Tower's 35-year old daughter, Marianne, and astronaut Sonny Carter. Senator Tower and his daughter are buried in the Sparkman-Hillcrest Cemetery in Dallas Texas.
This historical marker stands near his grave in the Sparkman-Hillcrest Cemetery.
Marker Number: 11839
Marker Text:
John Goodwin Tower
1925-1991)
The son of a Methodist minister, John Goodwin Tower was a veteran of World War II and a political science professor before entering politics. He joined the national political scene in 1960-1961 when he won the special election to fill Lyndon B. Johnson's U. S. Senate seat, becoming the first Republican senator from Texas since Reconstruction. Tower served in the Senate for 24 years, holding a number of influential committee assignments and chairmanships. He became the chief United States negotiator at the strategic arms reduction talks in Geneva after his retirement from the Senate in 1985. He later chaired the Tower Commission, which issued its report on the Iran-Contra Affair in 1987. Tower was serving as an advisor to President George Bush at the time of his death in an airplane crash.
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