I am the Infantry!

I am the Infantry!

Original by unknown
Modified by LTC Stephen H. White assisted by Col Francis X. Bradley and SP4 Howard Webber

I am the Infantry–King 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!

"Until you've hunted man, you haven't hunted yet. Because you need to hunt something that can shoot back at you to really classify yourself as a hunter. You need to understand the feeling of what it's like to go into the field and know your opposition can take you out. Not just go out there and shoot Bambi."
—Governor Jesse Ventura, former U.S. Navy SEAL

"Americans in 1950 rediscovered something that since Hiroshima they had forgotten: you may fly over a land forever, you may bomb it, atomize it, pulverize it, and wipe it clean of life, but if you desire to defend it, protect it, and keep it for civilization, you must do this on the ground the way the Roman legions did by putting your young men into the mud." 

—Military historian T.R. Fehrenbach

"America must win this war. Therefore, I will work, I will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure. I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me alone."
—Private Martin Treptow, 168th Infantry Regiment

"Aerial bombardment can obliterate, but only infantry can occupy." 
—A Finnish Army officer, Operation Allied Force (1999), Kosovo

"Let us be clear about three facts: First, all battles and all wars are won in the end by the infantryman. Secondly, the infantryman always bears the brunt. His casualties are heavier. He suffers greater extremes of discomfort and fatigue than the other [combat] arms. Thirdly, the art of the infantryman is less stereotyped and far harder to acquire in modern war than that of any other arm."
—Field Marshal Earl Wavell

"The army's infantry is its most essential component. Even today, no army can take and hold any ground without the use of infantry." 
—George Nafziger

"The infantry doesn't change. We're the only arm [of the army] where the weapon is the man himself." 
—C.T. Shortis

"I’m convinced that the infantry is the group in the army which gives more and gets less than anybody else." 
—Bill Mauldin

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infantry:

As a branch of the armed forces, the role of the infantry in warfare is to engage, fight, and kill the enemy at close range—using either a firearm (rifle, pistol, machine gun), an edged-weapon (knife, bayonet), or bare hands (close quarters combat)—as required by the mission to hand; thus

in the Australian Army and New Zealand Army the role of the infantry is "to seek out and close with the enemy, to kill or capture him, to seize and hold ground, to repel attack, by day or night, regardless of season, weather or terrain".[1]
in the Canadian Army, the role of the infantry is "to close with, and destroy the enemy".[2][3]
in the U.S. Army, the "infantry closes with the enemy, by means of fire and maneuver, in order to destroy or capture him, or to repel his assault by fire, close combat, and counterattack".[4]
in the U.S. Marine Corps, the role of the infantry is to "locate, close with, and destroy the enemy with fire and maneuver, and to repel the enemy assault by fire and close combat".[5]

Hail O' Hail O' Infantry

Hail O' Hail O' Infantry

By unknown

Up in the morning, outta the rack
Greeted at dawn with an early attack
First Sergeant rushes me off to chow
But I don't eat it anyhow

Hail o' hail o' infantry
King of battle follow me
An airborne ranger's life for me
O' nothing in this world is free

From a big bird in the sky
All will jump and some will die
Off to battle we will go
To live or die, hell I don't know

Hail o' hail o' infantry
King of battle follow me
An airborne ranger's life for me
O' nothing in this world is free

Early at night it's drizzilin' rain
I am hit and feel no pain
But in my heart I have no fear
Because my ranger God is here

Hail o' hail o' infantry
King of battle follow me
An airborne ranger's life for me
O' nothing in this world is free

The mortars and artillery
The screaming bursts around me
Jagged shrapnel on the fly
Kills my buddy, makes you cry

Hail o' hail o' infantry
King of battle follow me
An airborne ranger's life for me
O' nothing in this world is free

One, two, three, four
Hooah
One, two, three, four

Infantry song

Infantry song

By unknown

You can hear it in the heat of the jungle
You can hear it across the sea
It calls to every freedom loving man
The cry of the U.S. Infantry
Follow Me! Follow Me!

From Concord Bridge to An Khe Ridge
Through the swamps and mountains and sand
They fight and die where brave men lie
Against all tyrants they stand.

You can hear it in the heat of the jungle
You can hear it across the sea
It calls to every freedom loving man
The cry of the US Infantry
Follow Me! Follow Me!

Infantry song

Infantry song

By unknown

We are the bedrock of our army
Wanting to keep our people free
Committed to the independence of our nation.
We are the men from the infantry.
There will never be a mountain too high
Or a road too tough for us.
We are about to rule the day and the darkest night.
We'll never rest till the wrong is right.
From the land, air, and sea,
We will strike our enemies.
They have called us the king of the battlefield. Oh! Oh! Oh!
We are brothers in arms.
We are the brothers proud to be.
We are the first,
The one and only infantry.

Infantryman's Creed

Infantryman's Creed

I am the Infantry.
I am my country's strength in war.
Her deterrent in peace.
I am the heart of the fight...
wherever, whenever.
I carry America's faith and honor
against her enemies.
I am the King of Battle.
I am what my country expects me to be...
the best trained soldier in the world.
In the race for victory
I am swift, determined, and courageous,
armed with a fierce will to win.
Never will I betray my country's trust.
Always I fight on...
through the foe,
to the objective,
to triumph over all,
If necessary, I will fight to my death.
By my steadfast courage,
I have won more than 200 years of freedom.
I yield not to weakness,
to hunger,
to cowardice,
to fatigue,
to superior odds,
for I am mentally tough, physically strong,
and morally straight.
I forsake not...
my country,
my mission,
my comrades,
my sacred duty.
I am relentless.
I am always there,
now and forever.
I AM THE INFANTRY!
FOLLOW ME!

Sylvester Stallone on infantry combat in his Rambo screenplay

"There isn't one of us who doesn't want to be someplace else, but this is what we do--who we are. Live for nothing or die for something."
—Sylvester Stallone on infantry combat in his Rambo screenplay

Excerpt from "I Am the Infantry" poem

"I am the Infantry--King 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!

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 King of Battle!

Always ready . . . then, now, and forever.

I am the Infantry! FOLLOW ME!"

— Excerpt from "I Am the Infantry" poem, author unknown

Encyclopedia Britannica on the infantry

Encyclopedia Britannica on the infantry:  “It has borne the brunt of human conflict through the ages.”

General Omar Bradley on the infantry:

General Omar Bradley on the infantry:  “The rifleman fights without promise of either reward or relief. Behind every river there's another hill and behind that hill, another river. After weeks or months in the line only a wound can offer him the comfort of safety, shelter and a bed. Those who are left to fight, fight on, evading death but knowing that with each day of evasion they have exhausted one more chance for survival. Sooner or later, unless victory comes, this chase must end on the litter or in the grave.”

Stephen Ambrose in his book D-Day on the infantry

Stephen Ambrose in his book D-Day on the infantry: “It was not a miracle. It was the infantry. The plan had called for the air and naval bombardments, followed by tanks and dozers to blast a path through the exits so that the infantry could march up the draws and engage the enemy, but the plan had failed, utterly and completely failed. As is almost always the case in war, it was up to the infantry.”

Lieutenant Colonel Harvey Larry Wilson on the infantry

Lieutenant Colonel Harvey Larry Wilson on the infantry:

The motto of the infantry is “follow me,” for the infantry is always in the Vanguard of Battle. The infantry is the oldest of the combat arms. Its roots begin with the first cavemen who stood together to protect their tribe and have continued throughout history.

Let us look at the missions of the other two major combat arms, artillery and armor. Artillery lends support through indirect fire and armor provides firepower and mobility to the battlefield. The artillery supports from as much as 17 kilometers or more behind the battle lines and armor provides its fire power and mobility in the form of a main battle tank made of sixty two tons of homogenous steel. The infantry men's mission is to close with, kill or destroy the enemy by means of fire and maneuver, a deadly game of leap frog where one group of Infantrymen lay down a base of fire while others maneuver toward the objective. This deadly game is repeated until the objective is taken! His protection, a cloth uniform.

The Infantryman has many ways of arriving at the Battlefield. He may drop in on the silent canopy of a parachute, or arrive on the beating blades of a helicopter. He may ride in the protection of an Armored Personnel Carrier, or as so many have done, simply walk to battle. Regardless of his means of transportation he must, in the end, face the enemy and begin his deadly game of fire and maneuver.

As much pride as a combat Infantryman has, he knows that he does not stand-alone. The welcome sound of an Air Force forward air controller telling him that he has fighters on station, the call from the helicopter gunship lead saying that he is rolling in on the enemy, the whistle of friendly artillery putting steel on the target, or the tank spitting out its deadly munitions. All are in support of the Infantry.

We cannot forget the support personnel that provide the Infantrymen with the means to do their job. Weapons, ammunition, food, water, uniforms, repair, medical care, military intelligence, yes and pay as well. In fact, in the past, the ratio of support personnel to combat personnel has been five to one. In Vietnam it was as much as ten to one.

It is ironic; however, that in this day of high technology, the only ground gaining arm is still the Infantryman himself. You may bomb it or strafe it, you may call artillery fire on it, or run a tank over it; but it's not yours until a man with a rifle is standing on it. The next time that you see a man who has been in the military ask him what he was. If he has seen the hell of battle as an Infantryman, you will see the pride in his eyes; but look closely as you will also see the sadness as he remembers.

An Infantryman's war is a very personal war. The pilot flies home without seeing the results of his endeavors, in fact, if an enemy aircraft is shot down one does not kill the enemy pilot hanging helpless in his parachute. The artilleryman rarely sees the results of steel on the target, but the Infantryman measures his endeavors in human life, both friend and foe. Battle is not forgotten, ever. Another gentleman, a World War II veteran of the 11th Airborne Division who jumped on Corregidor, and fought his way through the Philippines and Okinawa, remarked I have forgotten the names of some of my buddies as I am seventy-eight and my memory is not as good as it once was; but I can still see all their faces. Somewhere, in a shoebox or a desk drawer these men will have a little blue badge with a rifle on it and a wreath around it. It is the Combat Infantrymen's Badge, a symbol of pride and sacrifice. To many, if not all, it is a treasured possession.