A Sniper in the Tower: The Charles Whitman Murders

10: Houston

10 Houston 154 I "I am just a West Texas Cowboy " Indeed! Houston McCoy embodied the Texas stereotype: a slow West Texasdrawl, an ellipticallyshaped face, piercing frontier eyes that look beyond bodies into souls, selective use of softspoken brutally honest words, often hiding a toughness no one should mess with. A more Texan name could hardly be conjured. McCoy stood well over six feet tall, with a thin, almost boyish frame West Texans described as a "long drink of water." His elongated musculature sug- Houston --------------------....-,Im Only seconds before confronting Charles Whitman, Houston McCoy had to dodge friendly fire from police and civilians, but he stilI had flashing thoughts of his wife Ruth and sons Stefan and Kristofer. Ruth would not find out about Houston's hero ics un til he got home late in the afternoon of I August 1966. Photos courtesy of Ruth McCqy. gested agrarian roots and hard work as a boy and young man. McCoy hailed from Menard, Texas, a hamlet about 150 miles west of Austin near no large or even mid-size city. "If you find yourself in Menard, it's probably 'cause you want to come here," mused one resident. In 1958, Houston graduated from Menard High School, home ofthe YellowJackets, and was named "Best All-Around Boy." He spent his young adulthood attempting to leave his hometown . He enrolled in Lamar Tech (now Lamar University) in Beaumont and attended classes there for a short time before serving a three-year hitch in the United States Army which included an assignment to Germany, where he met and then married a native German girl named Ruth. In the early 1960s Houston, like many young Texans, was attracted to Austin's cultural offerings. His introduction to law enforcement was routine and unromantic. He was in need of a job when he saw an ad for police recruits in the Austin American-Statesman.' By August, 1966, Officer McCoy had been with the Austin Police Department for nearly three years, but he still considered himself a rookie. He and Ruth had two baby boys whose names reflected their proud German heritage: Kristofer, age two, and Stefan, age I I D - - - - - - - - - - - Houston one. The pay for an Austin policeman was not very good, but McCoy was proud to be with the APD; he and Ruth got b~2 For the Austin Police Department, 1 August 1966 had started as a normal day. Nine traffic units reported for work. at 6:00 A.M. and were to serve until 2:00 P.M., ten patrol units reported at 7:00 A.M. and were to serve until 3:00 P.M., and six motorcycle units reported at 7:00 A.M. and were to serve until 5:30 P.M. McCoy reported for duty at 6:45 A.M., and less than fifteen minutes later he was on the road in Unit #21 9. He had been assigned to patrol midtown, the east section and Lake Austin. As in most growing cities, motorcycle, patrol and traffic units stayed busy during rush hours. After the traffic died down, in the time-honored tradition of police officers everywhere, McCoy took a few minutes for coffee. Afterwards, as the morning moved slowly and the heat began to build, Houston began looking for something to do. Near IH 35, at the bottom of the hill where the French Legation overlooked downtown Austin, McCoy and his good friend and fellow officer Billy Paul Speed, who had been assigned traffic Unit #353, pulled up to each other and had a short conversation. At the site of Austin's infamous "Pig Wars" the two young men spoke of their futures." Billy Speed, like Houston McCoy, was a young man and a new father. He and his wife, Beverly Jean, had celebrated the arrival of their daughter only slightly more than one year earlier. Like Houston , Billy had served a hitch in the military, training as a paratrooper. He had been with APD only thirteen months, receiving his commission on 2 July 1965, and so was still a rookie. He was a well-built officer, but at five-feet-eight inches tall, weighing 159 pounds, he looked rather small, especially next to someone like McCo~ Together the two young officers talked. Billy had begun to think seriously about quitting the police force. He made only $360 a month and thought there had to be a...