Every branch of service needs a song to identify with. A tune that sticks in your head long after you wish it wouldn't. With lyrics that fire the imagination and let others know what you're about. The Quartermaster Corps is no exception.
After some 166 years of relative silence in this matter, on the eve of World War II a trio of QM songwriters came up with an official song for the Corps: "We're The Gang That Keeps Things Moving." It was formally approved by The Quartermaster General in October 1941 and steadily rose on the military service Hit Parade in the days after Pearl Harbor. The first verse and chorus went like this:
When there is trouble brewing at the front,
And trucks are rumbling up the road,
The men who bear the stormy battle's brunt
Know who is there to share the load;
They know who'll go through fiery shot and shell
To bring supplies for men and gun as well;
You can be sure the Q.M.'s coming out
For you can hear the soldiers shout:
CHORUS We're the gang that keeps things moving,
At the front and post to post,
When a soldier has tough going,
We're the guys he needs the most.
From the day he joins the Army
'Til the time he's home once more,
If he should have to shoot or ride
The buddies fighting by his side
Will be from the QUARTERMASTER CORPS.