WILSON, JAMES VERNON (1897 - 1980). The following is a news article written about J.V. "Pinky" Wilson, the author of the Aggie War Hymn. Pinky Wilson had a cenotaph placed in his honor at the Texas State Cemetery in 2008. The article was written by Tumbleweed Smith of the Midland-Reporter Telegram.
The largest and deadliest battle of World War I occurred during the fall of 1918 in the Argonne Forest in northeastern France. It was the battle that weakened the German forces to the point of surrender. It was a bloody, muddy battle. Men fought in foxholes and food was scarce. Survival was uncertain. In the midst of flying bullets and mortar shells a young Marine from central Texas, James Vernon "Pinky" Wilson took out an envelope that contained a letter from home and scribbled down a few words. Those words became the "Aggie War Hymn," the most famous college fight song in the world.
Wilson grew up in the community of Florence, north of Georgetown. He was a junior at A&M in 1917 when he volunteered for the Marine Corps and was soon on the front lines. After the war, he returned to A&M and graduated with the class of 1920.
Pinky was a quiet man who lived a simple life on a farm near Burnet. When he got older, he moved into town. He never sought publicity and never expected any. I interviewed Pinky in 1980 just weeks before he died. I inquired about the meaning of the opening lines to his famous song, "Hullabaloo, kaneck, kaneck." He said thousands of people had asked him that and he never told them what they meant.
Pinky is buried in the Post Mountain Cemetery in Burnet. The funeral director who was in charge of the service is Bill Wilcox, a tenacious man who could sell snow to Laplanders. Bill always has a story or joke to tell and has a laugh that can be heard for miles. He said every time he would pass Pinky's grave and modest headstone he felt that the writer of the Aggie fight song deserved some type of recognition. He has spent the last dozen or so years working toward that goal.
Bill Wilcox doesn't know the meaning of the word "no." It never fazes him. Bill spent a ton of money having a bronze statue made of Pinky in his World War I uniform. Some effort was made to have it erected somewhere on the A&M campus. The answer was a resounding "no." But today the statue stands in front of the Corps of Cadets Center on the A&M campus. It was placed there on Oct. 11, 2008. Former President George H.W. Bush and Midlander Clayton Williams, the king of West Texas Aggies, have helped on the project. So have dozens of other people.
Bill Wilcox gets people to do things. He is like Tom Sawyer getting other people to paint his fence. Bill is the Pied Piper of Burnet.
People follow him anywhere and everywhere. He is amazing. He's the type of fellow most folks like to be around.
He has some things to show for his years trying to get Pinky some recognition. A novel about Pinky has been written by David Metcalf, a former funeral director in Conroe who moved to California to write. A screenplay about Pinky has been written by award-winning screenwriter Joe Tidwell. That script is now in the hands of Clint Eastwood. A cenotaph (a monument to someone whose remains lie elsewhere) to honor Pinky has been erected in the state cemetery in Austin. An audio CD ("Hullabaloo") about Pinky's life and the song will be out this summer sometime.
Bill gets things done.
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