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The 508th Parachute Infantry

Written by Ernie Glover, H Co., and introduced by him at the Daytona, Florida reunion in June 1981.  Sung to the tune of 'The Sinking of the Bismarck", it was an immediate hit and proclaimed as the 508th's Official Song.

Ernie lived in Rimforest, California at the time and had just retired from a career in law enforcement.
 

 


We're the men of the original 508th Parachute Infantry.

Our regiment was formed in Nineteen Forty-two
And we all knew what we had to do.
We had to go to Jump School, so in Nineteen Forty-three,
We became known as the 508th Parachute Infantry.

Then we loaded up and moved to a place called Camp Mackall,
The loveliest place you'll ever see, no, that's not right at all.
Tar paper shacks and muddy streets, rain dripped from every tree.
But we survived, 'cause we're the men of the Airborne Infantry,
The men of the original 508th Parachute Infantry.

We went on maneuvers somewhere in Tennessee
We trained there a month or two, then went to P.O.E.*
We loaded up James Parkers and sailed across the sea,
The fighting men of the 508th Parachute Infantry,
The men of the original 508th Parachute Infantry

We were the first to hit the silk, that day at Normandy
And made the jump in Holland, just to set some people free.
Some Jerry's died at Ardennes, as we fought from tree to tree.
We're the fighting men of the 508th Parachute Infantry,
The men of the original 508th Parachute Infantry.

Yes, we're the men in baggy pants that made the Germans flee
And we're what's left of the 508th Parachute Infantry.
So here's to the men who gave their lives so others could be free
And here's to the men of the 508th Parachute Infantry,
The men of the original 508th Parachute Infantry.

We're the men of the original 508th Parachute Infantry.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

*P.O.E. = Port Of Embarkation, i.e., Camp Shanks, NY where they sailed aboard the USAT James Parker

[Poem and author credits as shown Page 6, Issue 19, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment Association, February 1982]

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