Tag Archives: veterans

The First Infantry Song

Title: The First Infantry Song

Informant info: Informant name is Jason Laackmann. Jason is twenty-eight years old and attends Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH as a United States Army Veteran. Jason served in the Army for five years in active duty and continues to serve in the Minnesota National Guard. The locations in which he has served are Fort Bend, Georgia, Fort Riley, Kansas, and overseas in Eastern Afghanistan.

Type of lore: Verbal Folklore, Songs, Lyrics

Language: English

Country of Origin: USA

Social / Cultural Context: Jason was interviewed at Dartmouth College. Jason was asked if he remembered any songs that they would sing during his training or time in the Army. He was asked to sing these songs out loud, but was too shy and sent the lyrics to me via email instead.

Associated File: There is no recorded video as Jason has sent me these lyrics via email.

Transcript:  [I have recorded the item exactly how it was sent to me in the email]:

Below are a few running/marching cadences. Also listed are the army song and the first infantry doctors song, which we sang every morning. Let me know if you need more.

The first infantry division song:

Toast of the Army,

Favorite Son! Hail to the brave Big Red One!

Always the first to thirst for a fight.

No foe shall challenge our right to victory.

We take the field, A grand sight to see.

Pride of the Infantry.

Men of a great division,

Courage is our tradition,

Forward the Big Red One!

Informant’s comments: Jason mentioned that he would sing this song every morning before they would begin their day. He also stated that each infantry had their own specific song.

Collector’s comments: Although Jason was hesitant to sing the songs out loud, he was more than willing to provide the lyrics and share this song with me.

The Army Song

Title: The Army Song

Informant info: Informant name is Jason Laackmann. Jason is twenty-eight years old and attends Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH as a United States Army Veteran. Jason served in the Army for five years in active duty and continues to serve in the Minnesota National Guard. The locations in which he has served are Fort Bend, Georgia, Fort Riley, Kansas, and overseas in Eastern Afghanistan.

Type of lore: Verbal Folklore, Songs, Lyrics

Language: English

Country of Origin: USA

Social / Cultural Context: Jason was interviewed at Dartmouth College. Jason was asked if he remembered any songs that they would sing during his training or time in the Army. He was asked to sing these songs out loud, but was too shy and sent the lyrics to me via email instead.

Associated File: There is no recorded video as Jason has sent me these lyrics via email.

Transcript:  [I have recorded the item exactly how it was sent to me in the email]:

Below are a few running/marching cadences. Also listed are the army song and the first infantry doctors song, which we sang every morning. Let me know if you need more.

The army song:

Intro: March along, sing our song, with the Army of the free

Count the brave, count the true, who have fought to victory

We’re the Army and proud of our name

We’re the Army and proudly proclaim

Verse: First to fight for the right,

And to build the Nation’s might,

And The Army Goes Rolling Along

Proud of all we have done,

Fighting till the battle’s won,

And the Army Goes Rolling Along.

Refrain: Then it’s Hi! Hi! Hey!

The Army’s on its way.

Count off the cadence loud and strong (TWO! THREE!)

For where e’er we go,

You will always know

That The Army Goes Rolling Along.

Informant’s comments: Jason mentioned that he has sung this song various times during his time in the Army, and stated it was hard to ever forget the lyrics.

Collector’s comments: Although Jason was hesitant to sing the songs out loud, he was more than willing to provide the lyrics and share this song with me.

Say “No” to the Charms

Title: Say “No” to the Charms

Informant info: Informant name is Jason Laackmann. Jason is twenty-eight years old and attends Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH as a United States Army Veteran. Jason served in the Army for five years in active duty and continues to serve in the Minnesota National Guard. The locations in which he has served are Fort Bend, Georgia, Fort Riley, Kansas, and overseas in Eastern Afghanistan.

Type of lore: Customary Folklore, Superstition

Language: English

Country of Origin: USA

Social / Cultural Context: Jason was interviewed at Dartmouth College. He was asked to talk about any superstitions he may recall during his time in the army. Informant did not state how he obtained the meals regarding this superstition, but focuses more on the content of the meal rather than the way in which he received them.

Associated File: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6KcnEdk7Q4 (start at 2:38)

Transcript:  [I have recorded the item exactly how it was told to me in the interview]: Um, so one of the things that you do is, uh, when you’re in the woods, if you get a piece of candy called a charm, you, you throw it away immediately, you never open it. Because that’s you know, gonna bring rain and you never want to train when it’s raining. It’s, it’s a terrible feeling, ‘cause you don’t want to be cold and you don’t want to be wet, and you definitely don’t want to have a combination of the two.

Informant’s comments: Jason stated that it seems funny when you hear about it for the first time or when you don’t know much about it, but to them it’s something they take seriously, especially since these charms are considered to bring bad luck rather than good.

Collector’s comments: Jason chuckled when telling the story, but I could also sense how feared the charms were during his time in the Army.

Bootcamp and Training

Title: Bootcamp and Training

Informant info: Informant name is Jason Laackmann. Jason is twenty-eight years old and attends Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH as a United States Army Veteran. Jason served in the Army for five years in active duty and continues to serve in the Minnesota National Guard. Jason also served as a paratrooper and attended and graduated flight school. The locations in which he has served are Fort Bend, Georgia, Fort Riley, Kansas, and overseas in Eastern Afghanistan.

Type of lore: Customary Folklore

Language: English

Country of Origin: USA

Social / Cultural Context: Jason was interviewed at Dartmouth College. He was asked to talk about his boot camp/training experience during his time in the military. Due to his serving in various locations over the past couple of years, Jason didn’t go into much detail, but rather gave a general summary of what his bootcamp/training experience was like.

Associated File: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6KcnEdk7Q4 (start at 0:45)

Transcript:  [I have recorded the item exactly how it was told to me in the interview]: The training experience was… was pretty simple, pretty cut and dry. It was sixteen-week officer basic course for infantry. Uh, it centered around tactics, um, platoon and squad level operations and then how to write orders, um, and then how to plan those operations. Um, I did eight of the sixteen weeks where we’re out in the woods actually training where the other ones were just either refitting, uh, resetting your gear and doing, like homework assignments. Um, the officer basic course is much different than the original, uh, basic training of boot camp that enlisted soldiers go through. Um, but I did do a, uh, a basic training as well at Fort Knox, Kentucky where the drill Sergeants come after you, attack you for no reason, verbally. And uh, build the core which they desire.

Informant’s comments: Jason stated that he vividly remembered being yelled at by his drill sergeants. He commented that at the time it was a bit intimidating but the yelling had the purpose of molding them to be strong soldiers.

Collector’s comments: The informant was straight to the point when recalling his experience, but smiled when he remembered being yelled at by his drill sergeants.

Keeper of the Wings

Title: Keeper of the Wings

Informant info: Informant name is Jason Laackmann. Jason is twenty-eight years old and attends Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH as a United States Army Veteran. Jason served in the Army for five years in active duty and continues to serve in the Minnesota National Guard. The locations in which he has served are Fort Bend, Georgia, Fort Riley, Kansas, and overseas in Eastern Afghanistan.

Type of lore: Customary Folklore, Tradition

Language: English

Country of Origin: USA

Social / Cultural Context: Jason was interviewed at Dartmouth College. He was asked to talk about any traditions he could recall during his time in the Army. The informant discussed a tradition for the youngest members at airborne school.

Associated File: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6KcnEdk7Q4 (start at 3:58)

Transcript:  [I have recorded the item exactly how it was told to me in the interview]: Um, yeah, at airborne school they also have this thing called the “keeper of the wings”, where they give the, the badge to the youngest person in the, in the class. And it’s their job to maintain it and keep it with them throughout the whole three-week training. And at the end, they’re the first ones who get their wings pinned on them, and I think to this day, the youngest person has never failed the course. Uh, which is pretty cool.

Informant’s comments:  Jason commented that this particular tradition has a lot of value to the point that no member to be a part of the tradition has broken it. He has a lot of pride in this fact and believes it to be one of his most memorable traditions.

Collector’s comments: Jason is big on tradition and this idea of passing down a meaningful item to the younger members who come after the older.

Army Marching Cadence

Title: Army Marching Cadence

Informant info: Informant name is Jason Laackmann. Jason is twenty-eight years old and attends Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH as a United States Army Veteran. Jason served in the Army for five years in active duty and continues to serve in the Minnesota National Guard. The locations in which he has served are Fort Bend, Georgia, Fort Riley, Kansas, and overseas in Eastern Afghanistan.

Type of lore: Verbal Folklore, Songs

Language: English

Country of Origin: USA

Social / Cultural Context: Jason was interviewed at Dartmouth College. Jason was asked if he remembered any songs that they would sing during his training or time in the Army. He was asked to sing these songs out loud, but was too shy and sent the lyrics to me via email instead.

Associated File: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6KcnEdk7Q4

Transcript:  [I have recorded the item exactly how it was sent to me in the email]:

Below are a few running/marching cadences.

I don’t know but I think I might

Jump from an airplane while in flight

Soldier, soldier, have you heard

I’m gonna jump from a big iron bird

Up in the morning in the drizzlin’ rain

Packed my chute and boarded the plane

C-130 rollin’ down the strip

64 Rangers on a one-way trip

Mission Top Secret, destination unknown

They don’t know if their ever coming home

When my plane gets up so high

Airborne troopers gonna dance in the sky

Stand up, hook up, shuffle to the door

Jump right out and count to four

If my main don’t open wide

I got a reserve by my side

If that one should fail me too

Look out ground, I’m a-coming through

If I die on the old drop zone

Box me up and ship me home

When I get to heaven

St. Peter’s gonna say,

“How’d you earn your livin’ boy,

How’d you earn your pay?”

I’ll reply with a whole lot of anger,

“Made my living as an Airborne Ranger!

Blood, guts, sex, and danger

That’s the life of an Airborne Ranger!”

When I get to Hell

Satan’s gonna say,

“How’d you earn your livin’ boy,

How’d you earn your pay?”

I’ll reply with a fist to his face,

 

“Made my living laying SOULS to waste!”

 

Momma told Johnny not to go downtown

There’s too many Rangers hanging around

Johnny didn’t listen and he went anyway

To hear what the Rangers had to say

Johnny got a ticket to Afghanistan

To fight the people call the taliban

Johnny fought hard and Johnny fought brave

Johnny jumped on a hand grenade

Momma momma now don’t you cry

AIRBORNE RANGERS ARE BORN TO DIE!

Informant’s comments: Jason has sung these songs multiple times during his time serving, but decided that singing out loud during the interview was too far out of place.

Collector’s comments: Though Jason was too shy to sing the songs out loud, he was more than willing to share the lyrics to the songs and had emailed them to me right after the interview.

Naming Your Weapon

Title: Naming Your Weapon

Informant info: Informant name is Jason Laackmann. Jason is twenty-eight years old and attends Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH as a United States Army Veteran. Jason served in the Army for five years in active duty and continues to serve in the Minnesota National Guard. The locations in which he has served are Fort Bend, Georgia, Fort Riley, Kansas, and overseas in Eastern Afghanistan.

Type of lore: Customary Folklore, Superstition

Language: English

Country of Origin: USA

Social / Cultural Context: Jason was interviewed at Dartmouth College. He was asked to talk about any superstitions he had during his time in the army.

Associated File: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6KcnEdk7Q4 (start at 4:23)

Transcript:  [I have recorded the item exactly how it was told to me in the interview]: And then overseas, you know, everybody names their weapon something unique, and usually after a girl, if you’re a guy. Um, but uh, you know, they maintain it because you have uh, quite intimate relationship with your weapon system. And that uh, is thought to keep you safe. And something to focus on.

Informant’s comments: Jason did not disclose the name of his own weapon, but has said a few of his friends name their weapons after girlfriends or wives.

Collector’s comments: When he talked about naming weapons and the relationship soldiers have with them, he smiled and shrugged.

Blood Pinning

Title: Blood Pinning

Informant info: Informant name is Jason Laackmann. Jason is twenty-eight years old and attends Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH as a United States Army Veteran. Jason served in the Army for five years in active duty and continues to serve in the Minnesota National Guard. The locations in which he has served are Fort Bend, Georgia, Fort Riley, Kansas, and overseas in Eastern Afghanistan.

Type of lore: Customary/Material Folklore, Tradition

Language: English

Country of Origin: USA

Social / Cultural Context: Jason was interviewed at Dartmouth College. He was asked to discuss any traditions he had experienced during his time in the Army, in which he recalled a special and prominent tradition he felt strongly about when he graduated Ranger School.

Associated File: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6KcnEdk7Q4 (start at 3:18)

Transcript:  [I have recorded the item exactly how it was told to me in the interview]: Um, you know another thing, is graduating Ranger School, when you, when you get pinned your Ranger Tag on your shoulder, instead of pinning it through the fabric, they take the safety pin and put it all the way to your skin as a rite of passage. And uh, it’s the same thing with promotions and uh, combat awards. Or um, like when you, when you pass airborne school, you, they take the pin and push it into your skin and blood pin you without the back and just, hammer it home. Or when you get promoted, um, they’ll put the, the rank on your chest, and punch you quite hard. Uh, the army says all that stuff is hazing, but, uh you know, traditions are traditions. So it’s gonna be done regardless.

Informant’s comments: Jason has experienced this tradition a few times and still remembers it being a bit painful but at the same time humbling and honoring.

Collector’s comments: Jason did a subtle demonstration when describing the pinning tradition, pulling at his shirt sleeve at one point in his explanation. When discussing the blood pinning, Jason punched his chest to emphasize how the pin would be placed in his chest, as well as punching his fist into his hand.

It’s Bad Luck to Say “Good Luck!”

Title: It’s Bad Luck to Say “Good Luck!”

Informant info: Informant name is Jason Laackmann. Jason is twenty-eight years old and attends Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH as a United States Army Veteran. Jason served in the Army for five years in active duty and continues to serve in the Minnesota National Guard. The locations in which he has served are Fort Bend, Georgia, Fort Riley, Kansas, and overseas in Eastern Afghanistan.

Type of lore: Customary Folklore, Superstition

Language: English

Country of Origin: USA

Social / Cultural Context: Jason was interviewed at Dartmouth College. He was asked to talk about any superstitions he may recall during his time as a paratrooper in the army. Informant was very serious when stating that one should never say good luck, but then gave a smile when he stated how he would react and cracked a joke.

Associated File: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6KcnEdk7Q4 (Start at 2:55)

Transcript:  [I have recorded the item exactly how it was told to me in the interview]: Um, as a paratrooper, you, you never tell somebody, you know, “good luck” before they jump out of the airplane. It’s a bad omen and if somebody ever said it to me, I’d be, I’d be freaking out as soon as my parachute opened. I’d be afraid I was going to break my leg or my shoulder when I landed.

Informant’s comments: Jason takes this superstition seriously and is very nervous before jumping out of the air plane in the off chance someone might say “good luck!” on his way out.

Collector’s comments: Jason was serious at first when discussing this superstition, but was able to make a light-hearted joke at the end.

Having a Ball

Title: Having a Ball

Informant info: Informant name is Jason Laackmann. Jason is twenty-eight years old and attends Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH as a United States Army Veteran. Jason served in the Army for five years in active duty and continues to serve in the Minnesota National Guard. Jason has served in Fort Bend, Georgia, Fort Riley, Kansas, and overseas in Eastern Afghanistan.

Type of lore: Customary, Ceremony, Tradition

Language: English

Country of Origin: USA

Social / Cultural Context: Jason was interviewed at Dartmouth College. Jason was asked to talk about any ceremonies or traditions that took place in his time in the army.

Associated File: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6KcnEdk7Q4 (start at 2:05)

Transcript: [I have recorded the item exactly how it was told to me in the interview]: Each, each unit has there own, uh, specific history. So a lot of what you’re doing in the military is tied to your unit lineage. Um, so understanding, uh what your unit did in previous wars is really important. Um, so change of command ceremonies are always important. There’s a lot of, regal things that happen with that. Um, so I guess some of the main traditions is to have a ball and bring your girlfriend or husband and uh have like a traditional dance, if you will.

Informant’s comments: Jason has been to a few military balls and values the regal traits.

Collector’s comments: During Jason’s response he smiled when recalling the ball and was very animated when he talked about the idea of lineage in the military.