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https://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/national/remembering-us-rep-cw-bill-young-and-his-legacy/2148791/



Representative C. W. Bill Young, Florida’s longest-serving member of Congress and a Republican hawk on military spending during his 43 years in Washington, died Friday in Bethesda, Md. He was 82.

His chief of staff, Harry Glenn, said Mr. Young died at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he had been hospitalized with back problems stemming from a 1970 small plane crash.

On Oct. 9, Mr. Young, who represented a district in the Tampa Bay area, announced from his hospital bed that he would not seek another term in 2014.

As one of the strongest military supporters in Congress, Mr. Young made headlines in 2012 when he said that the United States should withdraw its forces from Afghanistan, reflecting a growing weariness with the war.

Mr. Young was considered the elder statesman of Florida’s Republican Party and in the House, where he served 22 terms, beginning in 1970.

Charles William Young was born Dec. 16, 1930, in Harmarville, Pa., and later moved to Indian Shores, Fla., a Gulf Coast community in Pinellas County. He served in the Army National Guard and was an aide to Representative William Cramer from 1957 to 1960. From 1961 to 1971, he served in the Florida Senate.

He was a longtime member of the House Appropriations Committee, where he focused on military spending. He and his wife, Beverly, frequently visited ailing service members at hospitals in the Washington area.

Mr. Young brought hundreds of millions of dollars in earmarks back to the Tampa Bay area, and built up a military contracting industry in the region, creating jobs and lifting the economy.

His district, which covers much of populous Pinellas County, was already expected to be up for grabs in 2014. Republican voters hold a slight edge over Democrats in the district, 37.7 percent to 35.2 percent, the Florida secretary of state’s office said; 23.2 percent are independents.

A special election will be held to finish Mr. Young’s term.

President Obama carried the district 52 percent to 46 percent in the 2012 presidential race, while Mr. Young beat the Democratic challenger, Jessica Ehrlich, 58 percent to 42 percent. Ms. Ehrlich has declared her candidacy for 2014. Beverly Young has told the local media that she would run for the seat if Ms. Ehrlich’s name is on the ballot.

Mr. Young was married twice and had three sons.

*The preceding content is not intended as a comprehensive biography, but it highlights their significance as a result of military or civilian distinction, lasting achievements, or association with impactful national events. 

Biography courtesy of the Associated Press as it appeared in the New York Times.  https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/19/us/politics/c-w-bill-young-longtime-florida-congressman-dies-at-82.html

Rep. Don Reed, President Richard Nixon and Rep. Charles Young.

U.S. Congressman Charles shaking hands with President Bill Clinton.

Bay Pines National Cemetery

Florida National Cemetery

Thank you for your service, it will never be forgotten. 

C W BILL YOUNG

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