Audio of the 24th Division era
24th Division March and Song
The "Official March and Song of the 24th 'Victory' Division." That's what the 1960's era 45 rpm record jacket says. See the Taro Leaf 62(3) Summer 2008, pages 20-21 for more about this music.
| 24th Division March | 24th Division Song | Words of Song Order Copy |
| The Army Song | Words of The Army Song |
The copy below is from The Taro
Leaf News of the 24th Infantry Division, Augsburg,
Germany,
Saturday, October 1, 1966. It answers some questions I had in 2008.
“After 20 Years
Division Song Revived
After a sleep of
20 Years, a brassy musical tribute to the fighting men of the 24th
Infantry Division
is stirring the hearts of Taromen once again, and in all likelihood
it
will never get
another rest.
The song is "The
24th Division March," and it is due for distribution in the near
future
on 45 rpm records
in post exchanges throughout this area.
But that is only
the climax of the story, reached through efforts led by Major
General E.
L. Rowny,
recently-departed 24th Division commander.
The story began
in the uncertain days in early 1950, on the island of Sendai, Japan.
Warrant Officer
(jg) James Lambrecht, then division bandmaster, and Corporal Thomas
Moses of the 34th
Infantry Regiment penned the original words and music.
Korea Halts Music
The lyrics and
tune were being developed when suddenly the call came: Taromen were
dashing for a
small Korean village called Taejon to head off hordes of southward-
sweeping
Communists. The Korean War was on, and during the preparations for
combat several original scoresheets were filed away, where they lay
unnoticed until early this year.
Specialist 5
Dennis Morris, director of the former 24th Entertainment Group,
found the
sheets and showed
them to Chief Warrant Officer Joseph L. Murat, director of the 24th
Division Band.
Murat liked the song immediately, although the music was not scored
for
band but
consisted only of a brief vocal sheet.
Colonel Fariss
Hardin, then division chief of staff, wanted General Rowny to hear
it
during an
upcoming ceremony—only three days away. It left little time for
Murat to
make an
arrangement and for the full band to rehearse.
Rowny Hears Song
But on schedule,
the division band struck up the march for the first time in nearly
20
Years, and Morris
sang the accompanying lyrics. Rowny took to the song
enthusiastically.
Again Murat sent to work on words and arrangement, and the band
began practice
more earnestly than ever: they were headed for a date with a record
producer.
The result is the
45 rpm record, featuring the band playing the march on one side,
with
the Seventh Army
Soldiers' Chorus accompanied by the band on the flip side singing
the
vocal version,
"The 24th Division Victory Song."
The Taro Booster
Association will be in charge of sales, with the sale date scheduled
for
October l8th
(1966) in local post exchanges.
24th Division
Song
Second Verse
All the way from
Pearl to Mindanao
Where we stopped
aggression's Tide.
As we carried
Freedom's Banner Proudly.
Valor set our
stride.
Keeping Faith
with those before us,
Who have blazed
an Honored TraiI.
For all their
Courage and their Bavery,
Carried on will
never Fail.
We have never
asked for glory,
All our glory we
have won,
So if there's
still a question,
Who the Hell are
we.
The 24th
Division, Yes the Victory Division
And you don't –
Dare Challenge – Me!”
End of Quote
I first became
aware of this song in the summer of 2008, when as I was looking
through
a significant
pile of publications from Paul Cain Plt. Leader K CO, 34th Regiment,
in
WWII, I came
across a 45 rpm record, labeled “Victory Division!” What happened
then is detailed on page 20 of our 24th IDA Taro Leaf, Volume 62, No
3, 2008. Suffice
it to say here that we also liked the song and march. So much so
that we digitized
it from the 45 analog, edited the audio track to remove the pops and
hisses and
converted it to a CD-Audio Disc. We had some 100 or so copies made
and there still
should be plenty available from Quartermaster Walter for $5.00.
I had always
wondered about Lambrecht and Moses: still am, but pleased that their
names do not
appear in our online casualty lists.
You may hear the
march and song at:
http://24thida.com/audio/audio_default.html
You may see the
Taro Leaf edition at:
http://24thida.com/taro_leaf/images/2008%2003%20March%20and%20Song.pdf
Tom J. Thiel
24thidathiel(at)gmail.com
Some Korean era songs to remember
Remember "Ah-de-dung?" Well, it isn't that at all! It is the "Song of Arirang!" Here it is in three versions: traditional, choral, and rock. And there is one other you may recall too!
Song of Arirang [Traditional (low vol at start) Choral Rock] China Night
If you have songs and music of your era please click here.