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William Hearn
By
W. Michael Kemp
Former Poet Laureate of Pelican Island
In the early
1960’s
When TAMU was all male
A young man began his journey
And the trip’s been quite a tale.
Before Rudder made his changes
And Old Aggies felt despair
Before there were women at A&M
Young William Hearn was there.
While serving in the Army
He heard the clarion call
To Viet Nam he posted
And in combat gave his all.
Through gunfire, shells and helicopters
Through war’s gritty nightmare
Through jungles, swamps and firebases
Captain William Hearn was there.
Then following his service
He returned to wife and kin
He continued his education
Laid down his rifle for a pen.
Early in its history
On an island flat and bare
TAMUG was being established
And young William Hearn was there.
Through mutinies, stabbings and hurricanes
TAMUG has soldiered on
Through student, staff and faculty strife
The school has always grown.
And when things were at their darkest
And there was reason to despair
The light would always come again
‘Cause William Hearn was there.
In the distant time of growing
With Bill Clayton at the helm
Interesting things were always happening
In TAMUG’s maritime realm.
And then with William Merrell
The growth was on a tare
With programs all expanding
William Hearn was always there.
Who followed was David Schmidley
Grand ideas were constant fare
Community relations deepened
And William Hearn was there.
Vi Flores was the next in line
The Dean’s Heavy Mantle to bear
A lot of fixing needed done
And William Hearn was there.
Then Kemp was posted to TAMUG
Of the issues he was unaware
A lot of education was needed for him
And William Hearn was there.
The team they put together
Evolved to a stolid mass
TAMUG grew and prospered
Though it was sometimes a pain in the….bottom
Then came Bowen Loften
A really focused guy
Who took it to the next level
In spite of his bow tie.
He garnered a new ship
An achievement extremely rare
And money for new buildings
And William Hearn was there.
Through successive generations
As the Ocean’s billows roll
There is one constant presence
That stabilized TAMUG’s Soul.
In a Universe constantly changing
TAMUG shall never despair
Though physically he may be absent
Bill Hearn’s spirit will always be there.
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