I am the Infantry

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 guerrilla 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 ¨it the beaches and chopped through swamp and jungle¨ I set the Rising Sun. I am the Infantry!

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! "