The words were written, but the notes were still in Pinky's head. It took more than 1 month to get them on paper. After Armistice was signed, Pinky was traveling from France through Germany and had some long, arduous treks ahead of him as the Allied forces were leaving the country. During the trip through Germany, Pinky had time to run the notes through his head to see how they might fit the words and the cadence of the song. I think that the reason that the forces were leaving Germany was because Armistice required forces to stay out of Germany until Dec 1, so many troops, including my grandfather, were sent to stay in Belgium until then. Once returning in Germany, the troops followed the Ahr River up until it merged with the Rhine River. There, my grandfather & a couple of other Marines quartered in a caretaker's house on the grounds of a summer estate home that had belonged to a Kaiser. Finally, these guys had a roof over their head!
However, the most important thing for Pinky was that the bunkhouse contained an upright piano. As soon as he could do so, Pinky sat down and began to play the notes that had been locked in his head for the past few days. As he played the notes, he transcribed them to paper. The notes that he played that day would eventually become the music to The Aggie War Hymn.
On the 2nd day that the soldiers were quartered in the cabin, Pinky had just come back from standing guard at a depot near the river & as he entered the cabin, Pinky sat down, unfolded his paper & propped it against the music stand on the piano.& he began to play & sing the song that he had kept locked in his head the past few weeks. The words slid in perfectly to the notes & the Aggie War Hymn was born.
This may have been the paper that Pinky wrote his music to: (I've enclosed a closeup)
On a side note: There have been several stories over the years that told of Pinky wroting the War Hymn at this point in time. I actually believed this story to be true for several years, but it's simply not the case. I have newspaper articles & this story that proves that the words were indeed written in a "French Trench". The truth is that the music was written at this time, but the wording had already been completed.
During the next few days, Pinky recruited a quartet of fellow Marines to help him sing his song. Who would have thought that the Aggie War Hymn would 1st be sung by a group of Marines along the banks of the Rhine River in Germany?
Pinky was stationed in Germany until he got his papers to return home on July 5,1919. It took a couple of weeks to get everything ready but on July 15, trains began to arrive to take the soldiers back home. In late July, the soldiers boarded a ship to go home & in early August, Pinky and his comrades arrived in New York to be greeted by Lady Liberty herself. On August 15, Pinky finally arrived back to his childhood home in Florence.
I have several pics of Pinky from overseas that I will be posting very soon, so stay tuned.
Pinky with Marine buddies. (Pinky on far left)
Pinky(center) with fellow Marines on the Rhine. Serenading the ladies with a song perhaps?
German frauleins. Notice the vineyards in the background.
Pinky (right) on the ship going back to the good ol' U.S. of A.
Next up, the final installment: Pinky goes back to A&M & the rest is history.
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