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Artist/Band
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Song/Piece
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From Album
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Engage!
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United States Army Band and Chorus. Song by Gold-Hart. |
Dog Face Soldier |
Marching Music In Honor Of The Quartermaster Corps |
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| This song is really timeless. It landed on our 30’s page because there is an echo of the 30’s in the sound. It is written in the tradition of amicable competition between the services. The song is used today as Division Song of some Army units. Great song! | |||
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Here are the lyrics:
I Wouldn’t Give A Bean
To Be A Fancy Pants Marine,
I’d rather Be A Dogface Soldier Like I Am.
I Wouldn’t Trade My Old O.D.’s
For All The Navy’s Dungarees
For I’m The Walking Pride Of Uncle Sam;
On All The Posters That I Read It Says
Be All That You Can
So They’re Tearing Me Down To Build Me Over Again
I’m Just A Dogface Soldier
With A Rifle On My Shoulder
And I Eat Raw Meat For Breakfast Everyday.
So Feed Me Ammunition,
Keep Me In The Third Division,
Your Dogfaced Soldiers A-Okay.
The lyrics you have posted is the Fort Stewart (3rd ID) version. The mp3 version you posted is different.
I just ran into your dogfaced soldier song… and it made me think back when I was in.. good stuff. Well you wanted a little history on this song. The song belongs to the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division. They were based out of Germany, but in 1995/96 the entire Division was moved to Ft. Stewart, Georgia.
One thing I did notice on your lyrics.. right after the line that says, “on all the posters that I read it says… the following lyrics should read.. “the Army builds men.” So it should read, “on all the posters that I read it says the army builds men, so they’re tearing me down to build me over again.”
This song’s instrumental music is the instrumental-only theme song for the movie “To Hell and Back” a 1956 story of Audie Murphy, America’s most decorated hero. I would more likely know this because my dad was in the 45th Infantry Division and was fighting in the same areas as was the 3rd Division (Murphy’s unit). I got to this website because I was hoping to find and download some marching music a la John Philip Sousa, such as the Thunderer’s March, the military stuff they used to play in navy boot camp Great Lakes 1970. The song sounded very good, it immediately reminded me of my boyhood co-hero, Murphy (the other was my dad).
Good Luck. Thanks.
My name is Sgt. Juan R. Collado and I’m assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Stewart, G.A. This unit is also known as “THE ROCK OF THE MARNE”.
Dog Face Soldier is the song of the 3rd Infantry Division. We all sing it with pride every morning!!! Personally, I love it!!!
To find out more about the history behind this song go to this URL:
http://www.stewart.army.mil/Display.asp?Page=63A09A00-D15F-418D-9C9F-F8EA940979C2
(NOTE: If this address fails, just go to http://www.stewart.army.mil and run a search for Rocky)
The song you have posted is the official song of the US Army’s 3rd Infantry Division. Not sure when or who penned the lyrics, but it has been around since at least the Second World War. Audie Murphy, the USA’s most decorated soldier in WWII, served in the 3rd Infantry Division.
See: “Command missions: a personal story”, Lt. Gen. Lucian King Truscott, Jr., Reprinted 1990 by Presidio Press, 31 Pamaron Way, Novato, CA., pp. 295-297. A good write up of the spreading of the song in the Army by the 3rd Infantry Division.
I had been looking for the full lyrics to this song to refresh my memory because I had to sing it about 5 times a day while attending a leadership course with the 3d Infantry Division in Germany in 1990. The lyrics written on your site have been changed to be more politically correct. Here are the lyrics as they were sung before PC took over.
This is the official song of the 3d Infantry Division. It is the only song recognized by the U.S. Army as belonging to any particular unit. For trivia purposes, the 3d Infantry Division also has the only mascot licensed by Disney. “Rocky the Marne Dog” is a bull dog drawn by Walt Disney after he left the 3d Infantry Division and became a successful cartoonist.
Here are the corrected lyrics:
I Wouldn’t Give A Bean
To Be A Fancy Pants Marine,
I’d rather Be A Dogface Soldier Like I Am.
I Wouldn’t Trade My Old O.D.’s
For All The Navy’s Dungarees
For I’m The Walking Pride Of Uncle Sam;
On All The Posters That I Read It Says
The Army Builds Men
So They’re Tearing Me Down To Build Me Over Again
I’m Just A Dogface Soldier
With A Rifle On My Shoulder
And I’ll Go Casablanca to Bombay.
So Feed Me Ammunition,
Keep Me In The Third Division,
Your Dogfaced Soldiers A-Okay.
The words you posted on the page are incorrect. I really love this song and I was doing some searching for info about it. There seems to be several versions of the song. After listening to the version you have I wrote down the correct lyrics:
I Wouldn’t Give A Bean
To Be A Fancy Pants Marine,
I’d rather Be A Dogface Soldier Like I Am.
I Wouldn’t Trade My Old O.D.’s
For All The Navy’s Dungarees
For I’m The Walking Pride Of Uncle Sam;
On All The Posters That I Read
It Says the Army Builds Men
So They’re Tearing Me Down
To Build Me Over Again
I’m Just A Dogface Soldier
With A Rifle On My Shoulder
And I go from Casablanca to Bombay.
So Feed Me Ammunition,
Keep Me In My Old Division,
Your Dogfaced Soldier Boy’s Okay.
The original version of the 3rd Infantry Division song,’ The Dogface Soldier’. It is featured in the movie, “To Hell and Back”, the story of Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier of World War II.
Just thought you might like to know :)
In World War II, a dog face was an infantryman; weary, gray faced, with a several day growth of beard. See Bill Mauldin’s “Willy and Joe”. This song was featured in Audie Murphy’s movie “To Hell and Back”
In World War I, this song was “A Private Soldier”:
I’d rather be a private with a chicken on my knee,
Than a colonel with a chicken on his shoulder…..
These are an old man’s remembrances that might have been distorted by time, imagination and dreams.
From one who was there – we were awakened every morning with that song. The original words were:
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, we usually sang “your dog-faced soldier boy is gay”, but that’s Army humor for you.)
The Third Infantry Division song was written in the late 30’s or early 40’s – I didn’t keep my handbook, so I can’t check it out. The mascot of the 3rd Division is a bulldog carrying a rifle, designed by Walt Disney during WWII. I wish I could help out more…
This song dates from WWII, was the divisional march of the Third Infantry
Division originally, and was featured in the movie “To Hell and Back”
starring Audie Murphy (our most decorated soldier of WWII). The original lyrics are a little different than what you show on the web site(see **). For instance:
I Wouldn’t Give A Bean
To Be A Fancy Pants Marine,
I’d rather Be A Dogface Soldier Like I Am.
I Wouldn’t Trade My Old O.D.’s
For All The Navy’s Dungarees
For I’m The Walking Pride Of Uncle Sam;
On All The Posters That I Read It Says
**The Army Builds Men**
So They’re Tearing Me Down To Build Me Over Again
I’m Just A Dogface Soldier
With A Rifle On My Shoulder
And I Eat **a Kraut/Chink (depending on the war)** For Breakfast Everyday.
So Feed Me Ammunition,
Keep Me In The Third Division,
Your Dogfaced Soldiers A-Okay.
I spent some time this summer with the 3rd infantry division out of Fort Stewart, Georgia and it is the official song of that division. If I’m not mistaken it was written by Walt Disney for the 3rd infantry division. Walt Disney also designed the look of the bulldog mascot that the division uses. He sold the rights for both the song and the mascot to the Army for $1. You might be able to find some information regarding this song on the Ft. Stewart homepage (http://www.stewart.army.mil/homepage.htm) or if you do a search on the history of the 3rd infantry division. I hope this information is of some use to you.
As a young soldier assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division (3rd ID) in the mid 70s, this was the theme song for the division. It’s headquarters was in Wurzberg, Germany. The mascot was a bulldog drawn by the late Walt Disney. I’ve not been with the division in years, but I know that they have changed some. Please contact Fort Hood, Tx. for more details or 3rd Infantry Division web site for conformation. Hooah!
I heard Dog Face Soldier throughout my youth. My dad fought with the Third Division in WWII in Africa, Italy, and Europe. He is a disabled vet. My dad sang this song to my younger sister and brothers while rocking them to sleep at night. Thank you for posting the music so I could hear it once again.
Sorry I can’t give you any info on the song, as an old dog face soldier the song brought back many memories some funny, some good & some not so good. Thank you for making it available to an old dog face who hasn’t heard it in many years, thanks again.
Just wanted to let you know that this particular song is from the 3rd Infantry Division, and that you have one line wrong. It should be “On all the posters that I read it says the Army builds men, so their tearing me down to start all over again.” I know this because I served in the 3rd Infantry Division Band, and was the music librarian. Thanks.
Dog Face Soldier is the official song of the 3rd division. The song is also featured in the movie “To Hell and Back” based on the autobiography of Audie Murphy.
Written by Lt. Gold I believe. One line is wrong. It goes
They are tearing me down to build me over again.
I had to learn it for the promotion board when I was in the Army 3rd ID 103MI 1990
The song belongs only to the 3rd Infantry Division of the US Army, headquartered at Fort Stewart Georgia which also has units stationed at Fort Benning and Hunter Army Airfield. The Division fought from WWI thru Desert Storm and most recently led the liberation of Iraq. The song is played every morning after Reveille, and sung by soldiers at every official function.
WFG
RAIDERS FIRST!!!
Dog Face Soldier is the Song for the US Army’s 3rd Infantry Division I am thinking the song may date as far back as when the 3rd Infantry Division was formed which was back during World War I. My grandfather received a book of the Third Infantry Division after world war II and it had the lyrics for Dogface Soldier except one variation where it says “I eat raw meat for breakfast everyday” it says “I eat a kraut for breakfast everyday” which goes along with the era. The song and i think that version of the song is on the movie “To hell and back the story of Audie Murphy. I thought i would tell you what i knew about the song, great site by the way.
The Dog Faced Soldier Song was written for the 3rd Infantry Division and is sung every morning by the 18,000 division soldiers before PT at 0630. The 3rd ID is the only Army Division that sings this song. As you might remember, the 3rd ID currently out of Ft Stewart, GA led the charge to Baghdad last year!
On February 31,2005 the Kentucky History Center dedicated a memorial to “Dogface Soldier” to be on display perpetually at the Center in downtown Frankfort, Kentucky. It’s about time…. Ken Hart of Frankfort, KY has been my mentor since managing my fathers political campaign in 1972. I was a young teen then. I was out of touch with him until last year when he came back into my life. Mr Hart along with Mr Gold wrote “Dogface Soldier” out of respect to the grunts that pride we Americans… in every conflict. Mr Hart himself was a pilot in WWII. He and his wife Jane are retired and have lived in the Capital City of Frankfory, KY for almost 40 years. You can drop their names in most any place in the Capital City and you will get nothing but wonderful comments about these two. They adopted and have raised 2 children (Hannah, still in Frankfort, and Andrew, a successful real estate broker in NY). Since WWII Ken and Jane have been engaged in the public eye.
Publisher of the Kentucky Coal Journal, Ken also worked for the State Journal for many years. He has been a part of the theatre life of Frankfort appearing in plays. Jane has been involved in numerous political issues in the mental/physical challenged arenas. She has also authored numerous books. He and Jane have given most of their lives to serving the public awareness front. Mr. Hart suffered a stroke a few years ago, but that doesn’t stop him. He has swimming therapy almost daily and you will find him and his friends having breakfast Monday-Friday at the McDonalds on US 127 in Frankfort. On Wednesday’s you will usually find him and “Doc” having lunch at Saylors Restaurant on US 60. Never wanting glory himself, he has never asked ASCAP why his royalties are so small. I am working on for him that since I have seen so many sites on the internet associated with or allowing a download of “Dogface Soldier”.
As you may know, ASCAP has recently been the subject of questionable royalties.
Ken Hart, in his mid eighties, would be so happy to hear from those who appreciate his and Mr Gold’s tribute to the red-blooded American Soldier. He is truly ” The Walking Pride Of Uncle Sam ” … one of those who will never be replaced..
Many of the people writing in are mentioning a change in the lyrics from those posted to those that are being sung. The diffrence dates to when 3rd I.D. moved to Ft. Stewart and Ft. Benning. The original lyrics (i.e. The Army builds men, and I eat Kruts for breakfast everyday) were changed to make the song more politcally correct. It was some info passed down to me by a Squad leader that noticed the diffrence when he moved from the Germany 3rd I.D. to the Ft. Benning one in 1996.
My grandfather, Ken Hart, passed away. He was very proud of his song that he co-wrote with Gold. Since I was a little girl, I have been singing the lyrics and humming this tune. Thanks for the memories. I will keep this website in my favorites.
There certainly is some confusion with regard to the origin of “The Dogface Soldier”. May I add some information on the matter as I understand it? It was written in 1942 by Bert Gold and Ken Hart. They had known each other in New York and it may be there where the song was written. Ken was in the First Infantry Division and told Bert that First Division boys don’t call themselves doughboys, they call themselves dogfaces. He wanted to write a song about them.
They were unable to get it published and so they had copies printed to hand out. One copy was given to a soldier who was sent to Africa as a replacement in the Third Infantry Division. I read where the soldier passed the song around and apparently it was picked up by the Third Infantry Division Band. Well that part is impossible because there was no Division Band at that time. There were three or four Regimental bands in the 3rd ID, but the actual Third Infantry Division Band was activated in Italy on January 1, 1944. However, it did become the Division song.
The only change to the original version is that in the penultimate line, “Third Division” was used to replace something else, thereby personalizing it for the 3rd ID. There are so many references made to the movie “To Hell and Back”, that I should have mentioned the version of “The Dogface Soldier” sung is PC and not original.
The lyrics can be seen just as they were sung during the second World War at http://www.3rdiv.org.
Most of the lyrics (dog faced soldier) I see posted are correct. No doubt, there were variants thru the years, however, although the one displayed by the 3ID Web site may be politically correct it is not historically correct and they should display both versions.
I would like to address what Tom C. had to say about the 3RD Div. He it right about the song, but the entire 3RD Div. was not moved to Ft Stewart. There was also a part of the Div. 1/15th Infantry left in Fort Benning, the A. Murphy Battalon. I surved with 3RD ID during 1996 and 1997.
My name is James Dunigan III. I am a historan and living historian of the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division WWI to WWII, U.S. 30th Infantry Regiment Living History Unit out of Savannah, Georgia…home of the active U.S. 3rd Infantry Division(Mechanized). I came across your website by accident, looking for the “Dogface Soldier” song.
However, it is easy for me to tell you its beginnings; its lineage is found in early days of World War Two. It was written by Pfc. Ken Hart and Pfc. Harry Gold. Of which particular unit they belonged too within the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division is another story as there are two sets of Harts and Golds in both the U.S. 30th Infantry Regiment and the U.S. 15th Infantry Regiment. Over the years the “Dogface Soldier” has gone through some changes as stated above in other posts. How unfortunate for the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division. I am a traditionalist and if it ain’t broken don’t mess with it. The “Dogface Soldier” was the best U.S. Army song until someone within the U.S. Army felt they needed to change it. UGGGG!!!! The original form of the “Dogface Soldier” is the true song of the U.S. 3rd Infantry Divison not the new version.
The original version is like this:
“I wouldn’t give a bean,
To be a fancy pants Marine;
I’d rather be a Dogface soldier like I am.”
“I wouldn’t trade my old OD’s,
For all the Navy’s dungarees;
For I’m the walking pride of Uncle Sam.”
“On all the posters that I read,
It says, “The Army Builds Men”;
So they’re tearing me down to build me over again.”
“I’m just a Dogface soldier,
With a rifle on my shoulder;
And I eat raw meat for breakfast everyday”
“So feed me ammunition,
Keep me in the Third Division;
Your Dogface soldier’s a-okay.”
Now there is a replacement chrous that was written by Hart and Gold in late
1944, to replace the last verse, which goes like this:
“So give my ammunition,
To the Forty-Fifth Division;
And send me to the U.S.A!!”
I love that verse…LOL…
Hope you guys enjoy….”ROCK OF THE MARNE!!!!”
Russ Morgan’s recording of the song made pop music’s top 30 in 1955, the year of the Audie Murphy film “To Hell and Back.” Corporal Bert Gold and Lt. Ken Hart, of Long Beach, New York, wrote the song in 1942.
My dad who served as an ordinance specialist with the 45th infantry division in Sicily was quite an irish tenor as it were. He also played the harmonica very well and would play the melody to “Dog Faced Soldier” for me when I was very young. I always asked him to sing it and he would laugh and tell me he didn’t know all the words. I believe that one of the “Army Song Books” issued to the GI’s before they went overseas may have had this song in it. Although I served with the 3d Marine Division in Vietnam, I must admit that this is a great tune and a great tribute to a great fighting outfit!
The words were changed in the 80’s to be politically correct (deleting the ‘Kraut’ reference.) I sang it for nearly every concert as a member and soloist of the U.S. Army Chorus (Pershing’s Own), stationed at Ft. Myer, VA.
I noticed that a lot of ppl commented, saying your posted lyrics were incorrect. I listend to the audio clip, and it is different from the lyrics you have posted. But, I just left Georgia about a year ago, and the way you have the lyrics at the top is how we learned to sing it when I was there (with the “on Army posters that I read, it says be all that you can”).
Back in 1954 I was stationed with the 3rd Division at Fort Benning, GA, serving in the Public information Office. Audie Murphy was at the base researching background for preparation for his movie “To Hell and Back.” He vaguely recalled the song from his time in service and I was asked to see if I could find it. With the help of the Bandmaster we found the music and lyrics.
I also was able to make contact with the composers who were WW II veterans and had written the song while in service. One of the composers, Bert Gold, was a TV graphics artist in New York. The other, Hart (I can’t recall his first name) owned a radio station in Frankfort, KY.
Although the lyrics have been slightly altered over the years, it is essentially the same song we found in the 3rd Division archives.
My dad was an army dogface soldier in wwII in the south pacific. Although he wasn’t in the 3rd division as far back as i can remember he sang this song, right up until he died in 1985. You have no idea how happy i am to finally have all the words.
Thank You
Im currently in the 3d Division, and yes, we sing that song Monday through Friday, sometimes on weekends but usally not. What you had written down first is excatly what we sing. Just so ya know!
I served in the 3rd Infantry Division as a new Lieutenant in Aschaffenburg Germany from 1968-69. We learned a slightly different version from those penned by most who have responded to this site. Our version went like this:
Wouldn’t Give A Bean
To Be A Fancy Pants Marine,
I’d rather Be A Dogface Soldier Like I Am.
I Wouldn’t Trade My Old O.D.’s
For All The Navy’s Dungarees
For I’m The Walking Pride Of Uncle Sam;
In my coat of O.D,
I’ll stand firm here on my ground
And as long as I’m here
You’ll know that freedom is sound.
I’m Just A Dogface Soldier
With A Rifle On My Shoulder
And I eat raw Krauts for breakfast every day.
So Feed Me Ammunition,
Keep Me In the 3rd Division,
Your Dogfaced Soldier Boy’s Okay.
I suppose we got rid of “On all the posters I read…..”, because we felt we were men and didn’t need any further building up. Just a guess. We were there during the Czech takeover by the Russians, and were locked and loaded on the border. Interesting time.
Great site! Brought back many memories.
I’ve know this song since before I could walk, I think. My father was in the infantry in WWII and my mom and I (born in Feb 1944) were in the first ship that brought dependants over at the end. We lived in Heidelberg and Sonthofen (as I recall) until we moved to Berkeley, CA where my dad taught ROTC.
My divergent lines are “I eat a kraut for breakfast every day/So feed me ammunition, keep me in the Third Division/ and send me to the USA.
The 3ID Song was written during either the first or second world wars. It was written with the Words I eat Krauts for breakfast every day as the original version. I believe it was changed to raw meat because of the obvious fact the division was placed in Wurzburg Germany, and it would have offended our allies. Also the part of the song where it says be all you can be is probably from a different version of the song as many others had mentioned before.
My dad was stationed in this unit working as a comptroller and I was taught the song by other soldiers who worked with him.
I was reading the renditions of “Dog Face Soldier.” I did not find one version that I recognized, although a few came close. I was in the 2/30 Inf 3rd Inf Div in Schwienfurt Germany from 1984 to 1987 and every morning the AFN radio station played the original 1940’s recording. As I recall the history of the song, it was written by a PV2 and a PV1 in a fix hole during the war. It was recorded and recieved air time on the radio stations in the states for a time. There were two different versions, only differentiated by the ending. One ended with ….this dog face soldier boy is okay.. and then there was …. this dog face soldier boy is alright.. It was LAW!!!! for every one in the 2/30th to know both versions, and lord help the fool who did not know them. The following are the lyrics -As I Stand At Attention
I wouldn’t give a bean to be a fancy pants Marine
I’d rather be a dog face soldier like I am
I wouldn’t trade my old O.D’s for all the Navy’s gungarees
For I’m the walking pride of Uncle Sam
On all the posters that I read, they say the Army builds men so, Their tear=
ing me down to build me over again
I’m just a Dog Face Soldier with a fifle on my shoulder and I eat raw meat =
for breakfast every day
So feed me ammunition
Keep me in the 3rd Division
Cause this Dog Face Soldier is OOOOOkay ( or ALLLright)
As a SSG in the 3d ID, I just wanted to pass on the info I have about the Dog Faced Soldier song, and it seemed that there were a few blanks in your history of the song, so I wanted to pass along a site that explains it in detail. The original words on your page are correct, but they are not the word that are currently in use today.
The line that originally said “The Army makes men” was changed to “Be all that you can” in order to make the song more gender un-specific.
The line that originally said “I eat a Kraut for breakfast…” was changed to “I eat raw meat for breakfast…” because I guess some people found the original words offensive.
Hope all you “doggies” don’t mind hearing from a “jarhead”, I was a Sgt. with M-3-1, 1st Marine Division in Vietnam from 1970-1971.
“To Hell and Back” is one of my favorite movies and I have nothing but the highest respect for the 3rd Infantry Division and, of course, for Lt. Audie L. Murphy, MOH.
The info regarding the song seems to have been pretty well hashed over but I would like to toss in my two-cents, if I may.
From what I can gather, the song was co-written in 1942 by Cpl. Bert Gold and Lt. Ken Hart, both of Long Beach, New York. Major Gen. Lucian K. Truscott, the Commander of the 3ID at that time, adopted it as the Divisional Song and it has remained the Division’s song exclusively to this day.
In the movie from 1955, it was sung by an actress named Barbara James (uncredited) who was playing a cabaret dancer in a club in Casablanca. She was known as “Cleopatra” in the movie. The words from the movie, as she sang it, are as follows:
I wouldn’t give a bean
To be a fancy-pants Marine
I’d rather be a dogface soldier like I am
I wouldn’t trade my old O.D.’s
For all the Navy’s dungarees
For I’m the walking pride of Uncle Sam
On all the posters that I read
It says” the Army builds men”
So they’re tearing me down
To build me over again
I’m just a dogface soldier
With a rifle on my shoulder
And I eat a Kraut for breakfast everyday
So feed me ammunition
Keep me in the 3rd Division
Your dogfaced soldier boy’s okay.
In spite of different wording with different units over the years, I still think it is a great song. Anyway, to all of you who have served and are now serving in the 3rd Infantry Division, thanks and you are in a proud, old outfit with a lot of history.
I guess I should add my two cents worth. I was in the 3rd Division 30th Regiment, Company K in WWII. After the war, I was transferred to the 3rd Inf. Div. Band. To bring it on home, the words to the Dog Face Soldier seem to have been edited a bit over the years. The words we sang were…”and I eat a Kraut for breakfast….” Also, we learned to sing…on all the posters that I read it says the Army builds men. But, they’re tearing me down to build me over again…
Glad to see the 3rd is still the “Rock of the Marne”
Hi there! Ken Hart, one of the co-writers of ‘Dogface Soldier’ is my grandfather. The song was written for the movie ‘To He’ll and Back’. The original lyrics and sheet music can be found in the Kentucky Historical Society :) Keep singing it boys, it was meant for all of you!
My name is Patty Bowermaster and I served in 1st and 5th Platoons, 3rd MP Co from 1985-1988 in Schweinfurt and Wuerzburg, FRG. 27 years after joining the 3rd ID, I happened to have a conversation about military service with a fellow veteran who was about 15 years my senior. As we compared units, we discovered that we both served in the 3rd ID in Schweinfurt. I greeted him with our customary, “Rock of the Marne”, and he broke into song, “I wouldn’t give a bean…” I joined him in and we sang the entire song loud and proud in the middle of a US Navy office. Needless to say, we were the center of attention. We both remembered the same version: “On all the posters that I read it says the Army builds men, so their tearing me down to build me over again” and “I’m just a Dog Face Soldier with a rifle on my shoulder, and I eat raw meat for breakfast every day”.
Lt General L.K. Truscott, Jr. wrote his memories titled Command Missions in 1954. On page 295 general Truscott expresses his desire for his soldiers to have a song as did the soldiers of WW1. He thought ballads were healthy for morale. He states that one night three soldiers from the 7th infantry band entertained them with music after dinner and a catchy little tune caught his ear. ” Private Lackey” my father Walter J Leckie, who played dinner music for the general staff, told him the song was never published and it had been written by two soldiers he did not know. The general had “Lackey” play the song for the band leaders who reduced it to music for the Division band. The original music is on page 297 and it was “I eat a kraut for breakfast every day”=
I was in TUSAC from 1959 to 1962. We sang Dogface soldier as an encore at every performance. The ending lyric we use was as follows:
“I’m just a dog face soldier with my rifle on my shoulder
that I tote from Casa Blanca to Bombay: so feed me ammunition etc”