When you went to boot camp or basic training, did you have a song to rally around?

TSgt Joe C. Just cadence songs. Can't repeat them. LOL

TSgt Joe C. For several hours every morning, during lunch hour and from 1630 until ?1800 hours, the entirety of Camp San Luis Obispo, CA was inundated with a recording of Stars and Stripes Forever! (1953 BCT and AIT era).

The imprint of that music has somehow managed to be the ‘ringtone’ on my cell phone!

Even now, 66 years later, it catches my attention! Admittedly, when others hear the ‘Stars and Stripes Forever’ playing loudly, they give me a certain look.

I reported to basic training in November 1974 at Fort Leonard Wood and graduated in January 1975 and we were bused to 12B AIT about 2 miles away my friend TSgt Joe C. .
This was in the last days of the Vietnam War and we marched or double-timed to cadence songs.
Most of them were not for mixed company if I remember correctly. Since there were no women in the brigade that wasn't an issue back then :-)
Later when I was assigned to USMAPS in August 1975 we sand cadence as we marched that was respectful since we had women cadet candidates. The following year after I reported to West Point we had a First Class-man who sand songs from the 1950's and led us as we marched and double-timed in Beast Barracks.
One song I do remember as a cadence was Bo Diddley which had many variants, jump school, infantry school, etc. :-)

Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley (bought his babe a diamond ring) 1955
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ehlMdsuwoU

FYI LTC Wayne Brandon LTC (Join to see) MSgt Robert C Aldi CPT Scott Sharon CMSgt (Join to see) SMSgt Tom Burns SSG Donald H "Don" Bates SSG Jeffrey Leake Sgt (Join to see) SGT Randal Groover SGT Rick Colburn SPC Mike Lake PO3 William Hetrick PO3 Lynn Spalding SPC Mark Huddleston Rhonda Hanson SPC Jordan Sutich PO3 Craig Phillips PVT Mark Zehner