Rodger Young (person)

To the everlasting glory of the Infantry,
Shines the name, shines the name of Rodger Young!

In his 1959 seminal work of science fiction Starship Troopers, Robert Heinlein idolized the military, and especially the Infantrymen who formed the heart of the Army. The main character in Heinlein's book is Juan Rico, and his ship is named the Rodger Young. To Heinlein, Young represented the valiant and selfless Infantryman of story and song. Heinlein himself called this a tribute to the "Poor Bloody Infantry." Here follows the story of Rodger Young.

Rodger Young was born in Tiffin, Ohio on April 28, 1918. His family moved to Green Springs, Ohio shortly after his birth. Rodger was a man small in stature and limited in physical ability, but with a will and determination that far outstripped any of his peers. Standing 5'2" and weighing 125 pounds, the young man nevertheless participated in high school sports with enthusiasm and did everything he could to be like the American image of a fit young man.

In 1939 Rodger Young, with hometown friends, enlisted in the Ohio National Guard. Little did he suspect what was to be his destination in a few short years. After some training, in the year 1942 his division was mobilized and sent to the Pacific Theater. After several other operations, Rodger Young found himself with the 148th Regiment on the island of New Georgia in the Solomons. While on patrol late in the afternoon, Young's patrol of 20 men was surprised by Japanese in a concealed machine-gun pillbox on an overlooking hill. After the death of 4 men in the opening vollies, the rest of the patrol took cover. Rodger Young, inspired and brave, ignored the commands of his childhood friend Sgt. William Rigby and advanced on the pillbox. Wounded twice in his approach, Young nevertheless managed to throw a hand grenade into the emplacement, destroying it even as he was slaughtered by the enemy's fire.

The rest of Young's patrol, thanks to his heroic effort, escaped without further loss. Where he fell a wooden cross now stands, what some thought would be the only memorial of Private Rodger Young. However, Young was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for "bold and gallant action in the face of overwhelming odds." His citation found its way into the hands of Private First Class Frank Loesser, who immortalized the name of Rodger Young in the new anthem of the Infantry, the Ballad of Rodger Young.

May we ever salute our heroes.

No, they've got no time for glory in the Infantry.
No, they've got no use for praises loudly sung,
But in every soldier's heart in all the Infantry
Shines the name, shines the name of Rodger Young.

Shines the name--Rodger Young!
Fought and died for the men he marched among.
To the everlasting glory of the Infantry
Lives the story of Private Rodger Young.

Caught in ambush lay a company of riflemen--
Just grenades against machine guns in the gloom--
Caught in ambush till this one of twenty riflemen
Volunteered, volunteered to meet his doom.

Volunteered, Rodger Young!
Fought and died for the men he marched among.
In the everlasting annals of the Infantry
Glows the last deed of Private Rodger Young.

It was he who drew the fire of the enemy
That a company of men might live to fight;
And before the deadly fire of the enemy
Stood the man, stood the man we hail tonight.

On the island of New Georgia in the Solomons,
Stands a simple wooden cross alone to tell
That beneath the silent coral of the Solomons,
Sleeps a man, sleeps a man remembered well.

Sleeps a man, Rodger Young,
Fought and died for the men he marched among.
In the everlasting spirit of the Infantry
Breathes the spirit of Private Rodger Young.

No, they've got no time for glory in the Infantry,
No, they've got no use for praises loudly sung,
But in every soldier's heart in all the Infantry
Shines the name, shines the name of Rodger Young.

Shines the name--Rodger Young!
Fought and died for the men he marched among.
To the everlasting glory of the Infantry
Lives the story of Private Rodger Young.

-- Frank Loesser, P.F.C.