United States Veterans and Military Folklore

USA

Introduction

The United States Military is notorious for the rich tradition that is woven within all of its branches. Although this tradition is deeply rooted, the mystery within the specificities of this tradition is often left uncovered. The will to uncover this mystery proved to be the driving force of our research. Throughout this process, we identified key areas of focus– ceremonies, songs, customs and traditions to name a few– that were investigated during interviews with each of the informants (all military veterans). The relevance of this research is of utmost importance, as service men and women of all branches of the United States military invest great time and effort to defend their nation. The history and tradition housed within the American military is incredibly valuable and much can be learned by simply collecting stories from individuals that first-handedly experienced it.


Items

  1. https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/23/call-on-me/
  2.  https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/23/i-wish-all-the-ladies/
  3. https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/22/ceremony-for-fallen-soldier/
  4.  https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/23/never-eat-the-charms/
  5.  https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/23/jodie/
  6.  https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/24/the-recon-creed/
  7.  https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/24/recon-jack-unit-mascot/
  8. https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/24/deployment-tradition-mohawks/
  9.  https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/24/ghost-stories-parris-island/
  10.  https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/24/boot-camp-parris-island/
  11.  https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/24/mascot-barracks-barbie/
  12.  https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/24/traditions-cherry-pie/
  13. https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/24/good-luck-charms/
  14. https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/24/ghost-stories/
  15. https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/24/pre-deployment-ceremonies/
  16. https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/24/unit-song-boots-boots-boots/
  17. https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/28/challenge-coins/
  18. https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/28/marine-core-birthday-ball-celebration/
  19. https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/28/hey-josephine/
  20. https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/28/marine-corps-marching-cadence/
  21.  https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/28/having-a-ball/
  22.  https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/29/its-bad-luck-to-say-good-luck/
  23.  https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/29/blood-pinning/
  24.  https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/29/naming-your-weapon/
  25.  https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/29/army-marching-cadence/
  26.  https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/30/keeper-of-the-wings/ ‎
  27.  https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/30/bootcamp-and-training/
  28.  https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/30/say-no-to-the-charms/
  29.  https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/30/the-army-song/ ‎
  30.  https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/30/the-first-infantry-song/
  31. https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/30/third-battalion/
  32. https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/30/adapt-overcome-improvise/
  33. https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/30/blood-stripe-2/
  34. https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/30/malaria-pills/
  35. https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/30/hymnsong/
  36. https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/30/marine-corps-ball/
  37. https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/30/dog-tags/
  38. https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/30/shrapnel-charm/
  39. https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/30/pin-hitting/
  40. https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2016/05/30/poker-hands/

Conclusion

After collecting the folklore items, we found that there are various examples of material, verbal and customary lore in the US military. Though we could only scratch the surface, we’ve come to find that there are several similar folk traditions in multiple branches of the military. The experience that we had with this project not only allowed us to hear stories from Veterans, but also allowed us to see the enriching culture of the military through folklore collection. As a group, we’ve come to conclude that folklore is indeed everywhere we look and believe that it is truly worth collecting and keeping alive.

Names of the collectors

  • Morgan McCalmon
  • Kathy Dzienkowski
  • Sam Seder
  • Brittany Mann
  • Lourlin Lara

Tags/Keywords: Military, Veterans, folklore, songs, charms, rituals, traditions, marching, jodie, army, navy, paratrooper, challenge, coins, games, ceremony, deployment, United States, boot camp, return

Release Forms:

Craig doc

Michael Consent Form #1

Michael Consent Form #2

Jason Laackmann

Release Form – Menezes – Osborne