The Battalion, Thursday, September 13, 1979
Courtesy MSC Travel Committee
Extras, extras, read al[ about them
Many in Aggie film still on campus
By BETH CALHOUN
Focus Editor
The war effort was picking up steam,
Glen Miller was in the top ten and FDR
was president.
It was 1942.
It was also the year that “the long
and colorful history of Texas A&M
(would) live again on the screen.”
On July 16 of that year, The Battal
ion announced that arrangements had
been made by Universal Pictures, with
the approval of President T.O. Walton
and the Board of Directors, to produce
“a feature length picture on the dra
matic history of the school and its role
in the military, engineering and agricul
tural scheme of the State of Texas and
the nation.”
The final product, "We’ve Never
Been Licked”, goes something like
this:
A broadcast of The Army Hour hon
ors the 6,000 graduates serving in the
armed forces as officers. As the name
of Brad Craig is called for a posthu
mous award of the Congressional
Medal of Honor, time turns backward.
The film then follows the development
of a former student’s son from the time
he arrives at A&M as a fish, until he is
accused of being a “Jap lover” and
implicated in a plot to steal a secret
formula. Leaving in disgrace, it is later
discovered that he was only playing
along with the enemy. In the end, he
dies saving his Aggie “Old Lady” and
his country.
“The government and industry were
looking for a way to promote the war,
to sell war bonds, ” said Richard
“Buck” Weirus, Executive Director,
Associatfon o f Former Students.
A good way to do this was by prop
aganda movies like WNBL.
“We couldn’t believe it when we
found out,” Weirus said. “Boy, it was
really exciting.”
Even though all of the major roles
were played by Hollywood stars, “all of
the students” were used as extras and
in crowd scenes, Weirus said.
“I played in the dance scene band,"
he said. “We got paid Hollywood
scale. I guess we got over a couple
hundred dollars apiece. But most of
the fellas didn’t get paid.”
Another former student on campus
who did is Dr. George Kunze, Dean of
the Graduate College.
(Please turn to page 4.)