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**Military Songs Inspire Troops, Preserve Tradition**

Each branch of the U.S. Armed Forces maintains its own military marching
band to inspire troops and preserve tradition. Though they now serve
ceremonial functions, these bands were once an integral element on the
battlefield. To increase the morale

and courage of the men, bands would march in front of formations as they
entered battle. Yet, as the number of musicians dwindled, commanders
delegated marching bands to the rear of the formation, behind the
combat-ready troops. Today, bands are no longer involved in armed
conflict, but continue to inspire troops through song or hymn that
represent the individual histories and traditions of America's Armed
Forces.

**"The Army Goes Rolling Along"**

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Before "The Caisson Song" was adopted as the official tune of the U.S.
Army, it was the proud anthem of the U.S. Field Artillery Corps. During
a long march in the Philippines, Lieutenant Edmund L. "Snitz" Gruber
overheard an officer roar "Come on! Keep 'em Rolling!" Gruber, whose
relative, Franz, composed the Christmas Song "Silent Night," was
suddenly inspired and that night wrote the now-famous melody. Fellow
soldiers helped with the lyrics and in almost no time, all six regiments
of the U.S. Field Artillery had adopted "The Caisson Song" as a popular
marching tune.

During the last days of World War I, senior artillery leaders wanted to
make "The Caisson Song" official, and mistaking the piece as composed
during the Civil War, allowed bandmaster John Phillip Sousa to
incorporate most of the song into his own composition "The U.S. Field
Artillery March." The song became a chart-topper during World War I,
selling 750,000 copies. Discovering Gruber actually wrote the melody, an
embarrassed but innocent Sousa made certain Gruber received his
royalties. In 1948, the Army held a nationwide contest to find an
official song. After four years of unsuccessful results and nearly 800
submitted scores, the Adjunct General's office decided to recycle "The
Caisson Song." H.W. Arberg arranged the U.S. Army song, naming it "The
Army Goes Rolling Along." The Army copyrighted the song in 1956.

**The "Marines' Hymn"**

![](media/image3.jpeg){width="2.1770833333333335in"
height="2.1770833333333335in"}An unlikely venue hosted the debut of a
tune many now associate with the Marines' Hymn. In the city of Paris,
France, Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880) wrote and conducted opera and
opera-bouffe (comic and farcical opera). Most believe the melody of the
Marines' Hymn was, in fact, taken from an aria in "Genevieve de Brabant"
composed by Offenbach. This tune was morphed to fit the now famous lines
"From the Halls of Montezuma, To the Shores of Tripoli."

According to tradition, an officer wrote the first verse of the Hymn on
duty in the Mexican War (1846-1848). Meant to highlight the various
campaigns of the Marines, the unknown author edited the words from the
Marines' colors and added them to Offenbach's melody. Continuing the
custom, every campaign the Marines participate in gives birth to a new,
unofficial verse. Copyright ownership of the Marines' Hymn was vested to
the U.S. Marine Corps in 1991, although its first use as the Marines'
official anthem was in 1929.

**U.S. Navy "Anchors Aweigh"**

![](media/image4.jpeg){width="2.1770833333333335in"
height="2.1770833333333335in"}In an attempt to write a catchy tune to
rally the Naval Academy's football team, "Anchors Aweigh" was born.
Lieutenant Charles A. Zimmerman, the U.S. Navy bandmaster from 1887 to
1916, started the practice of composing a march for each graduating
class. However, none of these tunes really caught on. In 1906, Zimmerman
was approached by Midshipman Alfred Hart Miles to write a "piece of
music that would be inspiring, one with swing to it so it could be used
as a football marching song, and one that would live forever."

Together, Zimmerman and Hart composed the tune and lyrics that became
"Anchors Aweigh," dedicated to the class of 1907. The new fight song
indeed propelled Navy to a win that year over Army. The march was
subsequently adopted as the official Navy song and continues to inspire
classes of Naval Academy Midshipmen.

**"The U.S. Air Force"**

![](media/image5.jpeg){width="2.1770833333333335in"
height="2.1458333333333335in"}In 1938, the Army Air Corps decided they
needed an official song. Liberty Magazine sponsored a contest whereby
757 scores were submitted. Of those, one written by Robert Crawford was
selected by a committee of Air Corps wives and officially introduced at
the Cleveland Air Races in 1939. Crawford himself sang it in its first
public performance. When the Army Air Corps became a separate branch of
the military in 1947, Crawford's march changed names from "The Army Air
Corps" to the "U.S. Air Force."

Since that time, the first line of "Nothing'll Stop the U.S. Air Force"
became a motto and tradition. On July 30, 1971, the original first page
submitted by Robert Crawford in 1939 was carried into space in the
Apollo 15 "Falcon" and broadcast to the world by Major Alfred W. Worden,
who had a tape recorder aboard the "Endeavor" command module. The
"All-Air Force" crew arranged to take the sheet music with them as a
tribute to Crawford and the U.S. Air Force.

**The U.S. Coast Guard and "Semper Paratus"**

![](media/image6.jpeg){width="2.1770833333333335in"
height="2.1770833333333335in"}The Coast Guard's motto of Semper Paratus
or "always ready" was officially recognized in 1910, and thenceforth
appeared on the ensign. However, no one really knows how Semper Paratus
was chosen as the Coast Guard's "phrase" and watchword prior to its
formal acceptance.

Whatever the case, in 1922, Captain Francis S. Van Boskerck was inspired
to write an official U.S. Coast Guard song that would rival "Anchor's
Aweigh" or "The Caisson Song." While in the cabin of his cutter
Yamacraw, which was stationed in Savannah, Ga., Boskerck put pen to
paper and the lyrics for "Semper Paratus" were born. Five years later,
while stationed in the Aleutian Islands, Boskerck composed the
accompanying music on a dilapidated old piano in Unalaska, Alaska. The
geographically diverse origins of this piece are fittingly illustrated
in the song's first line "From Aztec shore to Arctic Zone, To Europe and
Far East..." Semper Paratus remains the proud standard and song of the
United States Coast Guard.