William Harrison Charlton, Jr., resident of College Station, passed away Monday, April 21, 2014, surrounded by his family. He is survived by his wife of 46 years, Barbara; his son William Harrison, an Air Force officer; his son David Alexander, a Navy veteran Hospital Corpsman; his grandson, Harrison Alexander; his granddaughter, Sofia Alize; and his daughters-in-law, Tonya and Robin.
Bill was born November 9, 1941, in Washington, D.C., to William Harrison Charlton and Sylvia Carrington Charlton. His father was a 37-year Army Air Corps and Air Force officer; Bill followed in the military footprints and enlisted in the Marine Corps while a high school senior. John Wayne in “The Sands of Iwo Jima” had a big impact on at least one young man. He spent the majority of his career posted overseas, served a combat tour in Vietnam, and retired a Mustang Officer after serving 29 years.
After retiring he and the family moved to College Station, Texas, to attend the Texas A&M Nautical Archeology program. This path came out of left field for the Charlton family and they wondered if Dad had watched “Indiana Jones” one too many times. His 25 years as an Aggie was his happiest playing “Indiana Jones in a wetsuit”. He spent many summers abroad first as a student then as the Scientific Dive Master on “digs” where the team brought up ships from the bottom of the seas.
Bill has been featured in books, National Geographic magazine, and television to include the History and Discovery channels, and there is even an Israeli postage stamp featuring his 1:10 model of the Sea of Galilee Boat. He was a Tai Chi and Yoga instructor, held a black belt in Okinawan karate, was a Master Diver, loved Alfa Romeos, and adored his family and dogs. But what he will be best known for is his bevy of friends around the world, as a mentor to many, and as a deeply loved patriarch of the small Charlton family.
The irony is that he was given less than two years to live in 2008, but fought on to spend six years with his family. He sailed on three “I’m dying” cruises with the family, visited Europe and Canada, coached his grandson to Tae Kwon Do gold and silver medals, and continued to teach at A&M until the end as the Scientific Diving Safety Officer for Texas A&M.
In lieu of flowers please make donations to Hospice Brazos Valley or Aggieland Humane Society. The family would like to give a special Thank You to Hospice Brazos Valley and the medical team at Scott & White in both College Station and Temple, Texas.
Captain (Ret.) Charlton’s service to his country will be honored at Arlington National Cemetery, Washington, D.C. at a later date
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William H. Charlton, Jr., known as Bill to friends and colleagues, passed away at the age of 73 after a valiant eight year-long fight against cancer.
Bill served his country in the Marine Corps for 29 years, completing a combat tour in Vietnam. He retired a Mustang Officer and entered the Nautical Archaeology Program (NAP) at Texas A&M University (TAMU), where he wrote an M.A. thesis on rope and knot-tying in the ancient Mediterranean.
In the 1990s Bill served as Diving Safety Officer for the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA), and supervised dive safety at INA’s excavation of a Byzantine shipwreck at Bozburun, Turkey, which was the first INA project to utilize oxygen-enriched air on a large scale (INAQ 25.4). His 1:10 scale model of the ancient boat recovered from the Sea of Galilee was featured on an Israeli postage stamp (INAQ 26.3).
Bill was responsible for making the Scientific Diving course at TAMU-Galveston available to NAP graduate students in College Station (INAQ 29.2), and served as TAMU’s Diving Safety Officer until his death. A tribute to Bill's life and work will be published in the Spring 2014 edition of The INA Quarterly.
Bill was born November 9, 1941, in Washington, D.C., to William Harrison Charlton and Sylvia Carrington Charlton. His father was a 37-year Army Air Corps and Air Force officer; Bill followed in the military footprints and enlisted in the Marine Corps while a high school senior. John Wayne in “The Sands of Iwo Jima” had a big impact on at least one young man. He spent the majority of his career posted overseas, served a combat tour in Vietnam, and retired a Mustang Officer after serving 29 years.
After retiring he and the family moved to College Station, Texas, to attend the Texas A&M Nautical Archeology program. This path came out of left field for the Charlton family and they wondered if Dad had watched “Indiana Jones” one too many times. His 25 years as an Aggie was his happiest playing “Indiana Jones in a wetsuit”. He spent many summers abroad first as a student then as the Scientific Dive Master on “digs” where the team brought up ships from the bottom of the seas.
Bill has been featured in books, National Geographic magazine, and television to include the History and Discovery channels, and there is even an Israeli postage stamp featuring his 1:10 model of the Sea of Galilee Boat. He was a Tai Chi and Yoga instructor, held a black belt in Okinawan karate, was a Master Diver, loved Alfa Romeos, and adored his family and dogs. But what he will be best known for is his bevy of friends around the world, as a mentor to many, and as a deeply loved patriarch of the small Charlton family.
The irony is that he was given less than two years to live in 2008, but fought on to spend six years with his family. He sailed on three “I’m dying” cruises with the family, visited Europe and Canada, coached his grandson to Tae Kwon Do gold and silver medals, and continued to teach at A&M until the end as the Scientific Diving Safety Officer for Texas A&M.
In lieu of flowers please make donations to Hospice Brazos Valley or Aggieland Humane Society. The family would like to give a special Thank You to Hospice Brazos Valley and the medical team at Scott & White in both College Station and Temple, Texas.
Captain (Ret.) Charlton’s service to his country will be honored at Arlington National Cemetery, Washington, D.C. at a later date
=====================================
William H. Charlton, Jr., known as Bill to friends and colleagues, passed away at the age of 73 after a valiant eight year-long fight against cancer.
Bill served his country in the Marine Corps for 29 years, completing a combat tour in Vietnam. He retired a Mustang Officer and entered the Nautical Archaeology Program (NAP) at Texas A&M University (TAMU), where he wrote an M.A. thesis on rope and knot-tying in the ancient Mediterranean.
In the 1990s Bill served as Diving Safety Officer for the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA), and supervised dive safety at INA’s excavation of a Byzantine shipwreck at Bozburun, Turkey, which was the first INA project to utilize oxygen-enriched air on a large scale (INAQ 25.4). His 1:10 scale model of the ancient boat recovered from the Sea of Galilee was featured on an Israeli postage stamp (INAQ 26.3).
Bill was responsible for making the Scientific Diving course at TAMU-Galveston available to NAP graduate students in College Station (INAQ 29.2), and served as TAMU’s Diving Safety Officer until his death. A tribute to Bill's life and work will be published in the Spring 2014 edition of The INA Quarterly.
William Harrison Charlton, Jr., resident of College Station, passed away Monday, April 21, 2014, surrounded by his family. He is survived by his wife of 46 years, Barbara; his son William Harrison, an Air Force officer; his son David Alexander, a Navy veteran Hospital Corpsman; his grandson, Harrison Alexander; his granddaughter, Sofia Alize; and his daughters-in-law, Tonya and Robin.
Bill was born November 9, 1941, in Washington, D.C., to William Harrison Charlton and Sylvia Carrington Charlton. His father was a 37-year Army Air Corps and Air Force officer; Bill followed in the military footprints and enlisted in the Marine Corps while a high school senior. John Wayne in “The Sands of Iwo Jima” had a big impact on at least one young man. He spent the majority of his career posted overseas, served a combat tour in Vietnam, and retired a Mustang Officer after serving 29 years.
After retiring he and the family moved to College Station, Texas, to attend the Texas A&M Nautical Archeology program. This path came out of left field for the Charlton family and they wondered if Dad had watched “Indiana Jones” one too many times. His 25 years as an Aggie was his happiest playing “Indiana Jones in a wetsuit”. He spent many summers abroad first as a student then as the Scientific Dive Master on “digs” where the team brought up ships from the bottom of the seas.
Bill has been featured in books, National Geographic magazine, and television to include the History and Discovery channels, and there is even an Israeli postage stamp featuring his 1:10 model of the Sea of Galilee Boat. He was a Tai Chi and Yoga instructor, held a black belt in Okinawan karate, was a Master Diver, loved Alfa Romeos, and adored his family and dogs. But what he will be best known for is his bevy of friends around the world, as a mentor to many, and as a deeply loved patriarch of the small Charlton family.
The irony is that he was given less than two years to live in 2008, but fought on to spend six years with his family. He sailed on three “I’m dying” cruises with the family, visited Europe and Canada, coached his grandson to Tae Kwon Do gold and silver medals, and continued to teach at A&M until the end as the Scientific Diving Safety Officer for Texas A&M.
In lieu of flowers please make donations to Hospice Brazos Valley or Aggieland Humane Society. The family would like to give a special Thank You to Hospice Brazos Valley and the medical team at Scott & White in both College Station and Temple, Texas.
Captain (Ret.) Charlton’s service to his country will be honored at Arlington National Cemetery, Washington, D.C. at a later date
=====================================
William H. Charlton, Jr., known as Bill to friends and colleagues, passed away at the age of 73 after a valiant eight year-long fight against cancer.
Bill served his country in the Marine Corps for 29 years, completing a combat tour in Vietnam. He retired a Mustang Officer and entered the Nautical Archaeology Program (NAP) at Texas A&M University (TAMU), where he wrote an M.A. thesis on rope and knot-tying in the ancient Mediterranean.
In the 1990s Bill served as Diving Safety Officer for the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA), and supervised dive safety at INA’s excavation of a Byzantine shipwreck at Bozburun, Turkey, which was the first INA project to utilize oxygen-enriched air on a large scale (INAQ 25.4). His 1:10 scale model of the ancient boat recovered from the Sea of Galilee was featured on an Israeli postage stamp (INAQ 26.3).
Bill was responsible for making the Scientific Diving course at TAMU-Galveston available to NAP graduate students in College Station (INAQ 29.2), and served as TAMU’s Diving Safety Officer until his death. A tribute to Bill's life and work will be published in the Spring 2014 edition of The INA Quarterly.
Bill was born November 9, 1941, in Washington, D.C., to William Harrison Charlton and Sylvia Carrington Charlton. His father was a 37-year Army Air Corps and Air Force officer; Bill followed in the military footprints and enlisted in the Marine Corps while a high school senior. John Wayne in “The Sands of Iwo Jima” had a big impact on at least one young man. He spent the majority of his career posted overseas, served a combat tour in Vietnam, and retired a Mustang Officer after serving 29 years.
After retiring he and the family moved to College Station, Texas, to attend the Texas A&M Nautical Archeology program. This path came out of left field for the Charlton family and they wondered if Dad had watched “Indiana Jones” one too many times. His 25 years as an Aggie was his happiest playing “Indiana Jones in a wetsuit”. He spent many summers abroad first as a student then as the Scientific Dive Master on “digs” where the team brought up ships from the bottom of the seas.
Bill has been featured in books, National Geographic magazine, and television to include the History and Discovery channels, and there is even an Israeli postage stamp featuring his 1:10 model of the Sea of Galilee Boat. He was a Tai Chi and Yoga instructor, held a black belt in Okinawan karate, was a Master Diver, loved Alfa Romeos, and adored his family and dogs. But what he will be best known for is his bevy of friends around the world, as a mentor to many, and as a deeply loved patriarch of the small Charlton family.
The irony is that he was given less than two years to live in 2008, but fought on to spend six years with his family. He sailed on three “I’m dying” cruises with the family, visited Europe and Canada, coached his grandson to Tae Kwon Do gold and silver medals, and continued to teach at A&M until the end as the Scientific Diving Safety Officer for Texas A&M.
In lieu of flowers please make donations to Hospice Brazos Valley or Aggieland Humane Society. The family would like to give a special Thank You to Hospice Brazos Valley and the medical team at Scott & White in both College Station and Temple, Texas.
Captain (Ret.) Charlton’s service to his country will be honored at Arlington National Cemetery, Washington, D.C. at a later date
=====================================
William H. Charlton, Jr., known as Bill to friends and colleagues, passed away at the age of 73 after a valiant eight year-long fight against cancer.
Bill served his country in the Marine Corps for 29 years, completing a combat tour in Vietnam. He retired a Mustang Officer and entered the Nautical Archaeology Program (NAP) at Texas A&M University (TAMU), where he wrote an M.A. thesis on rope and knot-tying in the ancient Mediterranean.
In the 1990s Bill served as Diving Safety Officer for the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA), and supervised dive safety at INA’s excavation of a Byzantine shipwreck at Bozburun, Turkey, which was the first INA project to utilize oxygen-enriched air on a large scale (INAQ 25.4). His 1:10 scale model of the ancient boat recovered from the Sea of Galilee was featured on an Israeli postage stamp (INAQ 26.3).
Bill was responsible for making the Scientific Diving course at TAMU-Galveston available to NAP graduate students in College Station (INAQ 29.2), and served as TAMU’s Diving Safety Officer until his death. A tribute to Bill's life and work will be published in the Spring 2014 edition of The INA Quarterly.
