I am the
Infantry--Queen of Battle! For two centuries I have kept our
Nation safe, Purchasing freedom with my blood. To tyrants, I
am the day of reckoning; to the oppressed, the hope for the
future. Where the fighting is thick, there am I…I am the
Infantry! FOLLOW ME!
I was there from the beginning, meeting the enemy face to
face, will to will. My bleeding feet stained the snow at
Valley Forge; my frozen hands pulled Washington across the
Delaware. At Yorktown, the sunlight glinted from the sword and
I, begrimed…Saw a Nation born. Hardship…And glory I have
known. At New Orleans, I fought beyond the hostile hour,
showed the fury of my long rifle…and came of age. I am
the Infantry! FOLLOW ME!
Westward I pushed with wagon trains…moved an empire across
the plains…extended freedom's borders and tamed the wild
frontier. I am the Infantry! FOLLOW ME!
I was with Scott at Vera Cruz…hunted the guerilla in the
mountain passes…and scaled the high plateau. The fighting
was done when I ended my march many miles from the old Alamo.
From Bull Run to Appomattox, I fought and bled. Both Blue and
Gray were my colors then. Two masters I served and united them
strong…proved that this nation could right a wrong…and
long endure. I am the Infantry! FOLLOW ME!
I led the charge up San Juan Hill…scaled the walls of old
Tientsin…and stalked the Moro in the steaming jungle
still…always the vanguard, I am the Infantry!
At Chateau-Thierry, first over the top, then I stood like a
rock on the Marne. It was I who cracked the Hindenburg
Line…in the Argonne, I broke the Kaiser's spine…and didn't
come back 'till it was "over, over there." I am
the Infantry! FOLLOW ME!
A generation older at Bataan, I briefly bowed, but then I
vowed to return. Assaulted the African shore…learned my
lesson the hard way in the desert sands…pressed my buttons
into the beach at Anzio…and bounced into Rome with
determination and resolve. I am the Infantry!
The English channel, stout beach defenses and the hedgerows
could not hold me…I broke out at St. Lo, unbent the
Bulge…vaulted the Rhine…and swarmed the Heartland.
Hitler's dream and the Third Reich were dead.
In the Pacific, from island to island…hit the beaches and
chopped through swamp and jungle…I set the Rising Sun. I
am the Infantry!
In Korea, I gathered my strength around Pusan…swept across
the frozen Han…outflanked the Reds at Inchon…and marched
to the Yalu. FOLLOW ME!
In Vietnam, while others turned aside, I fought the longest
fight, from the Central Highlands to the South China Sea I
patrolled the jungle, the paddies and the sky in the bitter
test that belongs to the Infantry. FOLLOW ME!
Around the world, I stand…ever forward. Over Lebanon's
sands, my rifle steady aimed…and calm returned. At Berlin's
gates, I scorned the Wall of Shame. I spanned the Caribbean in
freedom's cause, answered humanity's call. I trod the streets
of Santo Domingo to protect the innocent. In Grenada, I jumped
at Salinas, and proclaimed freedom for all. My arms set a
Panamanian dictator to flight and once more raised democracy's
flag. In the Persian Gulf, I drew the line in the desert,
called the tyrant's bluff and restored right and freedom in
100 hours. Duty called, I answered. I am the Infantry!
FOLLOW ME!
My bayonet…on the wings of power… keeps the peace
worldwide. And despots, falsely garbed in freedom's mantle,
falter…hide. My ally in the paddies and the forest…I
teach, I aid, I lead. FOLLOW ME!
Where brave men fight…there fight I. In freedom's cause…I
live, I die. From Concord Bridge to Heartbreak Ridge, from the
Arctic to the Mekong, to the Caribbean and on to the desert
sands…the Queen of
Battle!
Always ready…then, now, and forever.
I am the
Infantry! FOLLOW ME!