"Our Fighting Men"

Left Foot, Right Foot March Album for Piano | 1923 | Mario s. Rocereto

[John McDonnell]

I wish that our fighting men and women in Afganistan and Iraq would be praised through new musical compositions that would be gratefully performed for these noble heroes in the cause of liberty.

In 1919, shortly after the Great War of 1914-1918, a former 18th Regiment band leader, Mario S. Rocereto, composed a march for band that was "dedicated to the American land, sea, and aerial forces". Here is a 1923 piano transcription of "Our Fighting Men".

http://www.angelfire.com/ks/landzastanza/rocereto.mid
(If the link doesn't work, go to www.angelfire.com/ks/landzastanza, scroll to the bottom of the page, and click on "Our Fighting Men".)

Although this kind of music has gone out of style, it does suggest the bravery of those who defended our liberties during World War I. Hey musicians! How about some new compositions praising our present fighting men and women?

[Indy Pendance]

One of my favorite sites.

http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/ItisPeke/VDay.html

***THE MANSIONS OF THE LORD***
from the movie "We Were Soldiers"

To fallen soldiers let us sing
Where no rockets fly nor bullets wing
Our broken brothers let us bring
To the Mansions of the Lord

No more bleeding, no more fight
No prayers pleading through the night
Just divine embrace, eternal light
In the Mansions of the Lord

Where no mothers cry and no children weep
We will stand and guard though the angels sleep
While through the ages safely keep
The Mansions of the Lord

[TerryGale]

John McDonnell's is upbeat, about comraderie and victory. Indy Pendance's choice is for a memorial service. Nice page, but very somber.

There was an interesting "special" on Sirius the other night.. Basic Training - Iraq Talk. Wednesday, 2/22/06, Howard Stern gave some air-time to Brent (a vetran)from Bubba the Love Sponge's show. Brent lined up several young men who had been in different branches of the service to come in and chat about the Iraq War. A couple of the men work for other Sirius channels.

In all fairness, he had one fellow there who supports the war and had a pretty positive perspective on it. All the men believed people should be supportive of the returning troops. A lot of the talk seemed to be about troops being treated fairly upon their return.

[Old Sarge]

Many of us over here have long ago given up hope, that the entertainment industry will ever support us again.

[Indy Pendance]

That's the only current song that came to mind. It is somber though.

[John McDonnell]

I should have used HTML for the link.

Our Fighting Men