Adapt, Overcome, Improvise

Title: Adapt, Overcome, Improvise
Informant info: Michael Rodriguez. Informant attends Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH as a United States Army Veteran. Informant enlisted in the Army in 2003 and was a member of the 1st Battalion 8th Marines Bravo Company, which is an infantry military unit. He was stationed out of camp Lejeune North Carolina. Informant served in Iraq from June 2004 to December 2004. He was awarded a Purple Heart. He was from a military family, as well. Informant is 31 years old.

Type of lore: Verbal Lore
Language: English
Country of Origin: USA
Social / Cultural Context: Informant was asked if there were any traditions that his family of veterans had told him about the military and he said there were not. Then he said there was a saying that his father used to tell him that was a military saying. The saying is meant to encourage.

Associated File:

Adapt, Overcome, Improvise

Transcript:

[I have recorded the item exactly how it was told to me in the interview]: “He would always harp on me ‘Adapt, Overcome, Improvise’, which is this sort of like military motto. You know you just sort of keep on keeping on. Like oh you fail, you know, work your way around it and try again.”
Collector’s comments: Informant is referring to his father when he says ‘he’. His father was also in the military. He had previously talked about his father.

Informant’s Comments: Found this one more interesting because it was passed on through the military and the Coast Guard, which his father was in.

Tags/Keywords: Military, Retort, Verbal Lore

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