 That's right son. That's a horse's head a thoroughbred horse and that black bar there means first First in name and first in battle. There's only one outfit that fits that description. It's the first cavalry division a Horse meet did you follow his ride from on horseback and charge the enemy? Well, that was the idea up to the last war one of our regiments fought on horseback in the Civil War The cavalry were the tanks and reconnaissance of those days The end of the Civil War didn't end the fight for the cavalry They had a job to do out West fight ninjas They got down from their horses pretty often to do the actual shooting like General Custer in his seventh regiment at the battle of the little big horn That seventh regiment of Custer's was the granddaddy of the first cavalry division, which was formed in 1921 They kept operating with horses until they went to the South Pacific in 1943 as dough foot Cavalry sabers were turned in for bayonets and each GI did his own steeple chasing. I Guess they figured the jungle was too rough for the tender skin of a horse And old brother so was that combat training. We got to know what the nickname tender foot really meant tender feet Wet feet to when we practiced amphibious landings in February 1944 we went gunning for the Japs on Los Negros Island in the Admiralty's Was a good thing we didn't have our mouth so long Racket those Navy guns made would have scared them to death like it almost did us We loaded the landing craft the same way we did on maneuvers But it wasn't a rehearsal this time It was a public performance Our throats were drier than they've been even after a hard ride on a dusty trail Got a sure okay looked easy But our troubles was just beginning The Japs had Imperial Marines to protect their airstrip They was cracked troops big fellas like the little Mavericks would expect it Half of them was local drunk They charge us singing deep in the heart of Texas honest to God Didn't fool us none Ain't her to jab with the Texas draw again It was our real wildcat scram But tough as they were we fought them at point blank range sometimes man-to-man We had a lot of heroes in that scrap but not all lived to get their medals Including this signal core cameraman who made his last picture that day. It's the same we beat the Japs hollow Killed off our big herd of them There's a way their airstrip in their islands The chief was pleased Now every man tank and gun to point over the water to the Philippines to batang The first cavalry was the first to hit Leyte in November 1944 We rode some strange beasts into the Landon Amtrax Buffaloe Alligators LCVP Rough riding to Didn't get saddle sore, but almost got seasick Made our stomach steadier though to see the rocket ships And they are forced given the Japs are going on They called the place we came ashore white beach Wasn't quite so white when we left it We were pinned down Some of our boys caught Japs bullets. It would have been worse though without that mechanized stuff They gave us for horses Pretty tough hide on those Shermans and Amtrax tougher than the ponies tougher even than the dough puts Leyte was no breeze. It was hard fighting We had to smoke the enemy out of their holes like coyotes But we smoked them out. All right The supply boys did great work hustling stuff to the fire We kept blast madam with rifle fire bazookas Rifle grenades So we put the first cavalry brand on every jet Maverick Then we moved into Teclobon Ladies number one city might be glad to see us Us and those good old American smokes we carried. There wasn't time for a long break though In January we were on Luzon driving hell-bent for the Capitol in Manila Driving a hundred and fourteen miles in sixty hours stopping only to smash resistance But we did it We beat every other outfit in the Manila not just for the glory But to avenge one of our own troopers An officer who had commanded the brigade of the first cavalry back in 1939 before he went to the Philippines in Corregidor The man whose name was Jonathan M. Wayne might our next APO was Tokyo We figured in Vedin, Japan would be plenty rough But a little something called the atomic bomb made it possible to enter Tokyo riding in a parade instead of fighting our way in First to get here And figure any other outfit would make it before us. Did you smart-looking troopers aren't they mind you? I said troopers not soldiers We did this job without horses. All right, but we're still troopers troopers of the first cavalry division