Veteran's Day Songs - "The Army Song"

"Come on! Keep them rolling!"

This call was overheard by Lieutenant (later Brigadier General) Edmund L. "Snitz" Gruber as he and his small detachment wound their way through the Zambales Mountains of the Philippines in 1907. About a year later, this simple command would inspire the original version (known as "The Caisson Song") of what we now know as "The Army Song."

When senior artillery leaders were searching for an official marching song toward the end of World War I, "The Cassion Song" was passed on to John Philip Sousa. The noted composer produced a rousing version of Gruber's tune which quickly became a blockbuster record.

But it wasn't until 1952, that "The Caisson Song" was adapted by H.W. Arberg and became the official song for the U.S. Army: "The Army Goes Rolling Along."

For the full story from Soldier's Mag. Click Here.

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