William A. Hamilton, Ph.D., will be inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame during a ceremony on April 24, 2014, at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Oklahoma.
The citation that will be displayed in the Hall, along with a photo of Dr. Hamilton, will read as follows:
“William A. Hamilton, a Pauls Valley native, began his journalism career as a paperboy for The Anadarko Daily News. A Master Parachutist, he served 20 years as an infantry officer, earning the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross, 20 Air Medals, four Bronze Stars, Army Commendation Medal (V), and the Purple Heart. He served as editor-in-chief of the Lincoln (NE) Capital Times. A syndicated columnist for 25 years, he was a featured commentator for USA Today and has been a guest commentator on the PBS NewsHour and CNN. The author of award-winning articles on military and aviation subjects, he, and his wife, Penny, are the co-authors of four spy novels. He is a member of the Oklahoma Army ROTC Wall of Fame and the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame.”
“To be included in the Hall with such notables as Will Rogers, Paul Harvey, E.K. Gaylord, Frank McGee, James J. Kilpatrick, Bruce Palmer, Douglas Edwards, Don Ferrell, Ed Livermore, Jr., Joe W. McBride, Sr., Wallace Kidd, Joe W. McBride, Jr., Jack Stone, and other writers and broadcasters is, indeed, an honor,” said Hamilton. “Four of the previous Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame laureates are from my hometown newspaper, The Anadarko Daily News.
“As a teenage paperboy needing to pay for his bicycle, that’s where I started my journalism ‘career.’ We paperboys were not supposed to linger in the press room; however, I was always fascinated by the spectacle of hot lead being poured to make the ‘slugs’ for the newspaper type and I recall the smell of the newsprint as it rolled through the presses. I still have a few scars from flying lead. Of course, it is all digital now and newspaper composition is super fast.
“During the quarter century I wrote, on assignment, for USA Today, it was amazing to be able to phone or fax in my copy in the late afternoon from anywhere and then by dawn be able to pick up a copy of my work from a USA Today news box.”
Hamilton is no stranger to awards. In 2002, during the 75th anniversary celebration of the Delta Upsilon fraternity on the University of Oklahoma campus, he and fellow member, Ben Walkingstick, were named the two most outstanding alumni of the preceding 75 years.
His 1992 article “Misty Eyes for One Old Soldier,” received the Valley Forge Freedoms Foundation Medal and, in 2004, USA Today featured “Misty Soldier” as part of its Memorial Day tribute to our armed forces.
In 2008, he was named to the Oklahoma University Army R.O.T.C. Wall of Fame and inducted into the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame. In 2010, he was honored by the Wounded Warrior Foundation. He also earned the Expert Infantry Badge and the Combat Infantry Badge. He and his wife, Penny, co-hold a World Aviation Speed Record.
Dr. Hamilton and his wife are the co-authors of four espionage novel that are set, in part, in Grand County, Colorado. The novels, which are largely autobiographical, are available via Amazon.com, Kindle, Kobo.com, and Google Play. They write under the name: William Penn. Learn more at BuckAndDolly.com.
Dr. Penny R. Hamilton is the author of two non-fiction works about the Granby, Colorado area. She, too, is a laureate of the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame and, in March, 2014, she will be inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame.