| The Infantryman's Creed 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 oppressed, 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 it 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! |
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