 Three strangers on a street corner in an American city. Generations from different backgrounds. Yet these three men have much in common. Each has been a soldier in the United States Army. The gentleman with the graying hair can still remember the beachhead at Salerno in 1943, when he came in on the first wave of General Mark Clark's assault troops. The man next to him at the bus stop recalls the hard fighting in Korea. His unit took the same scarred hilltop four times in three days. For this young man, the memory of combat is so fresh, he can still smell the mixture of aromatic rice patties and burnt cordite, which will always remind him of Vietnam. The unseen bond between these men is close. They've all known combat, they've all been infantrymen, and they've all known what it is to have earned the high infantry award of the Silver Rifle. Combat Infantryman's Badge, with its imprint of a silver rifle, is a symbol of the foot soldier's skill and dedication. Today you will see something of the heritage of sacrifice and achievement behind this emblem, and how it was developed in various forms to honor the American Infantryman. The choice of a musket as the main element of the Combat Infantryman's Badge was a fitting one. Since our nation began, the American Rifleman fighting on the land has been the mainstay of our strength for freedom, and it's always been the combination of personal courage and a good firearm that has won the United States Fighting Man's success in battle. In early days, the Flintlock musket was the foot soldier's main weapon. It required a lot of preparation before firing. Powder and shot had to be loaded separately, and a ramrod used to pack them down into the barrel. The citizen soldier who made up the colonial militia, the infantry of their day, got their first training with a musket, and it paved the way for a far more effective weapon. By the end of the French and Indian War, the new weapon had appeared on the frontiers of Pennsylvania and southward. This weapon was to gain fame later as the Kentucky Rifle. It still required muzzle loading and ramming, but the spiral grooves in its barrel could spin a bullet more accurately to its target. In the hands of an expert marksman, the rifle could take a heavy toll on the battlefield. During our war of independence, the rifle company became an important part of the Continental Army. One of the most famous of these companies was led by Colonel Daniel Morgan, who recruited over 100 men to form his unit. Eventually, General Washington selected 500 of the Army's best rifleman and put them under Morgan's command. At the Battle of Saratoga, Morgan's rifles delivered a withering fire against British forces under General Burgone. These sharpshooters helped win a critical American victory that turned the tide of the war. Despite the superiority of the rifle as an accurate weapon, there was always a shortage of good marksmen. The musket, effective at a short range and adaptable to a bayonet, continued to be the basic weapon for the infantrymen through most of the 19th century. By the early 1900s, the foot soldier's weapon had changed a lot. It was still fairly large and heavy, but it was a much more accurate and reliable firearm. When an officer asked a soldier to name his weapon during an inspection, he would rattle off U.S. rifle caliber 30 Cliff Fett bolt operated Springfield 1903. The man who carried one of these on his olive-grabbed shoulder was called a dough boy, but he was still what his great-grandfather had been. The soldier on foot with a well-cared foreweapon and the job of taking ground and holding it. And like his grandfather, he was good at his job. During the first few years of the new century, if rifles were in short supply, he trained with wooden models. No branch of the army is more exacting in its physical demands on the soldier than the infantry. By the early 1900s, following the Spanish-American War, our military planners recognized a need for a strong infantry establishment in the United States Army. Infantry training during this period reflected the hand-to-hand combat typical of battle in the previous century. The bayonet was still important to the foot soldier whose order of the day remained engage and defeat the enemy. In the summer of 1917, it was over there for the dough boys. As American expeditionary forces arrived in France to join the Allies in World War I, the commander of the AEF was General John J. Pershing, a natural leader, a thorough organizer, and a strict disciplinary. He began military operations in France with a U.S. Army of about 200,000 men. Before the fighting was over, more than 2 million men made the trip across the Atlantic to the battlefields of France. The names are famous in military history. Swanson, Reims, Chateau Therry, the Somme, Bellow Wood. This was a war of massive infantry advances in the face of heavy enemy fire. It took courage and it took skill to go over the top, and it took a lot of man to do it. The foot soldier in World War I had a new weapon to contend with, the machine gun, which demanded new assault tactics. Troops had to be spread out with greater distances between the men to reduce the effect of the enemy machine gun fire. Gradually the concept of infantry was beginning to shift from the solid line of attacking troops that characterized warfare in earlier days, toward the individual man, working as a part of a team. Throughout history, the foot soldier has always received support from other army elements. In the First World War, the tank, developed by the British, moved successfully against the enemy's machine guns and provided effective support for infantry attack. But more than in any war up to that time, the infantryman found himself faced with the challenge of making his way and battle largely on his own initiative, with only his weapon, his courage, and his belief and his cause to see him through. Springfield 1903 was used until the early 1940s, when the infantryman was issued this new weapon, the M1, a hard-hitting semi-automatic weapon with considerably more firepower than the bolt-operated Springfield. And again, the weapon and the man proved an unbeatable combination. They got acquainted to training camps all over the country. Instruction became a way of life for the soldier as he learned all there was to know about the new weapon. Above all, he learned to fire it with safety and accuracy under the watchful eyes of his instructors. While mastering the M1 as his new base, while mastering the M1 as his new basic weapon, he had to learn to operate a whole new group of infantry weapons, submachine guns, the Browning Automatic Rifle, new and more powerful mortars, hand grenades, the bazooka, the flamethrower. The infantryman had to learn to adjust to complex enemy defensive measures, such as land mines and booby traps. But now, more than ever, the foot soldier learned to fight as a part of a team, to work out intricate field problems for squad or platoon. He learned to move swiftly and silently on patrol assignments, to probe enemy strength and bring back vital intelligence. Special types of infantry troops were developed such as mountain forces, capable of operating on rugged hill terrain, and paratroopers capable of quick entry into combat. Gradually, the concept of the foot soldier as a specialist in the infantry arts began to affect the makeup of the regiments and divisions. The traditional skill of the American rifleman adapted quickly to handling the new automatic firing equipment aided by an arsenal of latest combat weapons. This new breed of individual infantry experts was about to meet the greatest military challenge in American history. The Second World War. In the East, they would face a strong, aggressive military force bent on Pacific conquest. Music In the West, their enemy was on the march through Europe with one of the most powerful land armies ever assembled. Music To provide arms and equipment for the vast number of foot soldiers and other military components we were to send overseas, American industry, in cooperation with military planning and research, mobilized its resources. As never before, a nation drew its battle lines behind its fighting men and gave them not only the means to fight, but the spirit and the will. Like their forebears at Saratoga, they met the challenge with courage and confidence. An army of citizen soldiers trained by experts under the leadership of men who knew how to get the job done, and it did take some doom. Mobility without precedent in the history of warfare took the U.S. foot soldier of World War II far from his shores. Wherever he went, whatever his assignment, his essential mission was the same. Move in on the land, take ground from the enemy, and hold it. And it wasn't a one-unit or one-team job either. The infantrymen learned to work with other branches of the service. Armor helped blaze a path for it. Artillery softened up enemy concentrations. Aircraft battered enemy industrial and munition centers. But when it came to inch-by-inch footholds on enemy soil, flushing out snipers and securing each foot of ground, when it came to the final confrontation, the foot soldier was there. He brought his way through cities and streets whose names he could hardly pronounce. The rifle was his mark of courage, and he carried it with pride and determination. It was in recognition of the foot soldier's tough, hard-hitting role in combat that World War Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall took the initiative in arranging for the development of awards to honor the infantrymen. Personnel of the heraldic activity of the office of the quartermaster general of the army were given the mission of designing a badge that would foster pride in the infantry service and symbolize proficiency in infantry hearts. Heraldic artists went to work on the assignment. Sketches were prepared. Many different designs for an infantryman's badge were developed and submitted for approval. Each sketch was studied carefully, and the designs coordinated with the office of the Army Chief of Staff. Finally, a design for an expert infantryman's badge was approved in 1943. Its main feature was the silver replica of a musket, recalling the early riflemen who first established the high standards that have been the infantryman's tradition. The expert infantryman's badge is awarded to the infantryman who has satisfactorily completed army proficiency tests in the infantry arts, while in training or while assigned to a unit. A higher award was devised for the soldier who has served in actual combat. The combat infantryman's badge, developed from the previous design, this badge features the silver rifle in front of an oak reef. Under provisions of army regulations, the combat infantryman's badge may be presented to an infantryman in the rank of colonel and below, who has served against an enemy in ground combat. The US foot soldier who won his silver rifle in World War II took it to places which neither he nor history will ever forget, from the beaches of Normandy to the atolls of the Pacific. The silver rifles probed the enemy, moved in and defeated him in battle. Within five years after the close of World War II, the foot soldier had a new assignment. This time he took to battle the weapons of World War II, the M1 rifle and the carbine, along with the machine gun and other familiar weapons of the ground soldier. Objective, stem the aggression of the North Korean forces which had descended into South Korea. There were to see a lot of action in the hills and valleys of the Korean countryside. The Korean conflict was a seesaw war where at first we traded space for time until more US troops could arrive from Japan. When the order came to advance, we moved in with everything we had. The terrain of Korea restricted the use of armor, but tanks played an important fire support role. However, it was the foot soldier who had to dislodge the enemy from cities and take the high ground. This time the battle names were Pusan, Seoul, Incheon. There was a hill called Old Baldy and another name, Heartbreak Bridge. Whichever way the battle line moved, the infantryman was there. Still the critical factor in the outcome of battle. To recognize the service of those who served as infantrymen in two wars, the badge was redesigned to incorporate a star within the points of a wreath. This indicated that the wearer had served in World War II in Korea or Korea in Vietnam or World War II in Vietnam. Now this badge has a crown of two stars between the points of the wreath for those who've seen infantry service in three conflicts. Since Korea, the foot soldier's capability for combat has made dramatic strides, both in his training and his weapons. The infantryman of the 1960s uses one of these as his individual firearm. The M-14 or M-16 automatic rifle. Lighter in weight and more effective than he's ever had before. But today, he must be trained as well in the use of a whole group of latest weapons and fighting concepts employed in modern infantry operations. His training programs are planned carefully to give him a total understanding of the nature of his firearms and how to use them to the best advantage. His teachers are often men who've earned the combat infantry badge in more than one conflict since World War II. On the firing ranges, the men get a workout with a new weapon. A unique hand launcher adds range and greater firepower to the grenade. A mass demonstration of all infantry weapons adds up to a lot of punch and bad news for the enemy. Advanced communications have given the foot soldier a better maneuver capability. He must not only know how to use complex equipment, but how to maintain it in good working order. Modern field communications are compact and provide great flexibility in coordinating combat activities of widely dispersed units. Advanced infantry courses demand knowledge of subjects covering every phase of military operations on land. The intelligence and initiative of the modern American infantryman are at a level unparalleled in history. Just as the challenges he faces in modern combat are more complex and demand more judgment, maturity, and insight than ever before. An infantry officer counted at school Fort Benning, Georgia. The qualified foot soldier goes through a program of specialized training that will prepare him for leadership in the infantry. Each man is carefully observed during his training for skill and reasoning ability and problems of command. Physical training in the infantry is tough. It's got to be. The potential infantry officer must be able to lead his men anywhere under any conditions. Whether he's in training in the United States or under unit assignment abroad, the infantryman always tries to improve his combat skills. At this U.S. Army advanced individual training center in South Korea, the foot soldier continues his military education in all phases of the infantryman's art. Army training programs today emphasize both individual skills and unit training. The two are inseparable. A soldier who qualifies as an individual expert ensures the success of his unit as part of the Army combat team. New mobility techniques have revolutionized a foot soldier's ability to move to his assignment. The armored personnel carrier takes him to battle with protective cover against small arms fire. Advanced parachute techniques allow him to drop from the skies. The helicopter puts him down in hard-to-get places where he can strike swiftly into the very nerve center of enemy forces. The reaction time needed to respond to military crisis has been cut down. The war in Vietnam has demonstrated the ability of the United States Army to bring its strength swiftly to where it is required. And in Vietnam, the infantryman meets his greatest challenge. A jungle war with an ever-shifting front that demands military competence and individual courage of the highest degree. No matter how he is brought into combat, the final job must be done on foot. By men trained to maneuver on the most difficult countryside. By men able to move and fire and take an objective. By the man with his boots in the mud, a weapon in his hand and a job to be done. In the Vietnam War, that job can mean a lot of things. It can mean going out on a reconnaissance patrol to find landing zones for the helicopters. Moving in with a rifle company on a search mission, patrolling a deserted village that may conceal Viet Cong snipers. It can mean repelling swift and savage attacks in the jungle. Fighting his way out of an ambush. Destroying enemy cave where we hide men, supplies and ammunition. It can mean giving medical assistance to the peoples of South Vietnam. Or acting as ambassadors at large in waging war on political, economic and psychological fronts. Each individual American soldier who moves among our foreign allies is a diplomat warrior carrying out the policies and aims of our country. But first and foremost, today's foot soldier in the United States Army is a fighting man. His one mission has remained the same through all of our history. Find him, fix him and finish him. For generations, the exploits of the American infantrymen have been celebrated in song and story. But nowhere has his dedication been more vividly portrayed than in this dramatic verse written by an army officer after the Korean War. I am the infantry. Queen of battle. I meet the enemy face to face, well to well. For two centuries, I've been the bulwark of our nation's defense. I am the infantry. Follow me. Both hardship and glory have I known. My bleeding feet stained the snow at Valley Forge. I pulled an oar to cross the icy Delaware, tasted victory at Yorktown and saw our nation born. Wherever brave men fight and die for freedom, you will find me. I am always ready, now and forever. I am the infantry. Queen of battle. Follow me. Those few lines taken from this distinguished tribute to the United States foot soldier are summed up in the combat infantry badge. A proud emblem, symbol of an honored brotherhood, tested under fire and worn by men worthy of the highest respect from the nation they serve.