Blast from the Past – Dog Faced Soldier
I served in the US Army’s 3rd Infantry Division from 1988-1990, in Würzburg, Federal Republic Of Germany. The Marne Division, as it is known, has a song, “Dog Faced Soldier” dating from WWII, as well as a mascot named Rocky, created in 1965 by none other than Walt Disney, for just $1.
Rocky’s name hails from WWI, where 3ID held like a rock during the second Battle of the Marne River. This distinguished service also earned the Division its motto, the French “Nous Resterons La” (English – We Shall Remain Here).
I find it rather unfortunate that the song “Dog Faced Soldier” written by two Infantrymen, was altered after the Division moved to Ft Stewart to make it gender neutral.
Here is the version we sang. If you attended PLDC at the 3ID NCO Academy in Kitzengen, you had to learn and sing it as well, regardless of which unit you served with. This often led to altered lyrics which weren’t so flattering for us ‘Dog Faced Soldiers.’
“I wouldn’t give a bean,
to be a fancy-pants Marine
I’d rather be a dog-faced soldier like I am.
I wouldn’t trade my old O.D.’s
for all the Navy’s dungarees
for I’m the marching pride of Uncle Sam.
All the posters you see say the Army builds men,
Well, they’re tearing me down to build me over again.
I’m just a dog-faced soldier
with a rifle on my shoulder
and I eat raw meat for breakfast every day.
So feed me ammunition, and keep me in the 3rd Division
For your dog-faced soldier boy’s O.K.”
Of course, the only constant is change. Take for example this version of the song from 1955’s “To Hell And Back” a movie which tells the story of the most famous Marne Soldier of all, Audie Murphy. The lyrics are different than the version I learned.
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