The Ballad of Rodger Young

For Robert Heinlein, Rodger Young stood for that noblest of men--the soldier willing to put himself in harm's way for the sake of his people. Heinlein first mentions Young in 1952, when he recorded his piece for Edward R. Murrow's This I Believe show. Heinlein expands greatly on the theme in 1958 with Starship Troopers, a controversial novel which he freely admits having written in part to "glorif[y] the military[. . .]specifically the P.B.I., the Poor Bloody Infantry, the mudfoot who places his frail body between his loved home and war's desolation--but is rarely appreciated."* In the story, Johnny Rico serves aboard the troop ship Rodger Young, and we have occasion to hear the boarding tocsin for that ship, a verse from Frank Loesser's "The Ballad of Rodger Young."

To the everlasting glory of the infantry
Shines the name, shines the name of Rodger Young

E ither through error or for reasons perhaps only he knew, Heinlein conflated the lyrics of two verses to get the couplet cited above; both lines are present in the original song, but not in the same stanza. Below is a zipped sample from the World War Two-era ballad, sung by Nelson Eddy. Warmest thanks go to Frank Buzzell, of Spring Lake, Michigan, from whose collection of rare recordings this comes, and to the resourceful Clif Martin of Muskegon, Michigan, who recorded and shipped the song to us.

ryoung.ZIP (wav format, 341K)

New! ryfla.htm (Flash format, 479k)

Lyrics to "The Ballad of Rodger Young,"

No, they've got no time for glory in the Infantry.
No, they've got no use for praises loudly sung,
But in every soldier's heart in all the Infantry
Shines the name, shines the name of Rodger Young.

      Shines the name--Rodger Young!
      Fought and died for the men he marched among.
      To the everlasting glory of the Infantry
      Lives the story of Private Rodger Young.

Caught in ambush lay a company of riflemen--
Just grenades against machine guns in the gloom--
Caught in ambush till this one of twenty riflemen
Volunteered, volunteered to meet his doom.

      Volunteered, Rodger Young!
      Fought and died for the men he marched among.
      In the everlasting annals of the Infantry
      Glows the last deed of Private Rodger Young.

It was he who drew the fire of the enemy
That a company of men might live to fight;
And before the deadly fire of the enemy
Stood the man, stood the man we hail tonight.

On the island of New Georgia in the Solomons,
Stands a simple wooden cross alone to tell
That beneath the silent coral of the Solomons,
Sleeps a man, sleeps a man remembered well.

      Sleeps a man, Rodger Young,
      Fought and died for the men he marched among.
      In the everlasting spirit of the Infantry
      Breathes the spirit of Private Rodger Young.

No, they've got no time for glory in the Infantry,
No, they've got no use for praises loudly sung,
But in every soldier's heart in all the Infantry
Shines the name, shines the name of Rodger Young.

      Shines the name--Rodger Young!
      Fought and died for the men he marched among.
      To the everlasting glory of the Infantry
      Lives the story of Private Rodger Young.

Frank Loesser

* From the aftermatter to "Who Are the Heirs of Patrick Henry?" in Expanded Universe(1980)