BALLAD OF THE SIGNAL CORPS
Verse #1:
Now I'll sing a ballad
Of the mighty Signal Corps
And their heroic battle
In a far off Asian war.
They fought an awful battle
To win honor for their name.
With their own blood,
They blotted out
Near' twenty years of shame!
Chorus:
Signal Corps!
Signal Corps!
Tell me, men,
What we're fighting for?
Our honor,
The spirit of the Corps!
Verse #2:
In Nineteen Hundred and Fifty-One,
Korea saw disgrace,
For then, our Corps was routed
As the Chinese hordes gave chase.
One thousand Reds to every man
Gave hopelessness and fears.
How bitter's been the cry of "Coward!"
Ringing in our ears.
Verse #3:
But twenty years have come and gone,
And yet another war.
No cowards now are in our ranks.
We're the mighty Signal Corps!
We're called again to take up arms
For Country and our God.
With vengeance deep within our souls,
We're thirsting now for blood!
Verse #4:
Ton Son Nhut Air Force Base
Was struck in 'Sixty-Eight
By North Vietnamese Regulars,
All marching proud and straight.
It seemed no one could stop them,
Not even Infantry.
The Signal Corps picked up their guns
And won the victory!
Verse #5:
Through blood and fire and screaming shells,
Our justice was the same.
The Signal Corps had saved the day,
Brought honor to their name.
The Signalmen were tough enough
To pass their combat test.
We'll wear the colors proudly,
Knowing we're the very best.
Words and Music: ©Copyright 1968 by John Robert Mallernee
Author’s Note: "Ballad of the Signal Corps" was composed in 1968 while I was going through training as a Field Radio Relay and Carrier Equipment Operator (MOS 31 M 20) at the United States Army Southeastern Signal School at Fort Gordon, Georgia.
The song was inspired by a news report of a battle at the gates of Ton Son Nhut Air Force Base in Saigon, Republic of Viet Nam during the Tet Offensive of 1968. According to published news accounts, men of the 69th Signal Battalion saved the base by fighting off a Viet Cong attack at the gates, as the base was being overrun.
The references to cowardice in Korea may not be valid, for at the time I wrote this, I was a very naive trainee and got all my information, true or false, from fellow soldiers or from instructors, whose reliability is questionable.
We were told this was the reason we weren't permitted to wear our orange neck scarves or the orange shoulder cord with our uniform (the colors of the Signal Corps are orange and white), but of course, that wasn't true, for depending on which unit they were assigned to, some personnel did wear those items.
I strongly suspect the allegations of cowardice in Korea are probably unfounded, most likely inspired by resentment that Signal Corps personnel had a relatively comfortable existence when compared to the hardships of the Infantry.
But, whatever the case, every Signalman who ever heard this song seems to have loved it, as they were always asking me to sing it, over and over.
And this was years before I learned to accompany myself on a guitar, so I always sang this song a cappella.
John Robert Mallernee
January 30, 2005