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 suppressed, 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 is 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
the Queen of Battle!
Always ready
then, now, and forever.
I am the Infantry!
FOLLOW ME!
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