I am Quartermaster. My story is enfolded in the history of this nation. Sustainer of Armies…
My forges burned at Valley Forge. Down frozen, rutted roads my oxen hauled the meager foods a bankrupt Congress sent me… Scant rations for the cold and starving troops, gunpowder, salt, and lead.
In 1812 we sailed to war in ships my boatwrights built. I fought beside you in the deserts of our great Southwest. My pack mules perished seeking water holes, and I went on with camels. I gave flags to serve. The medals and crest you wear are my design.
Since 1862, I have sought our fallen brothers from Private to President. In war or peace I bring them home and lay them gently down in fields of honor.
Provisioner, transporter. In 1898 I took you to Havana harbor and the Philippines. I brought you tents, your khaki cloth for uniforms. When yellow fever struck, I brought the mattresses you lay upon.
In 1918, soldier… like you. Pearl Harbor, too. Mine was the first blood spilled that day. I jumped in darkness into Normandy, D-Day plus 1. Bataan, North Africa, Sicily. I was there. The ‘chutes that filled the gray Korean skies were mine; I led the endless trains across the beach in Vietnam.
By air and sea I supported the fight for Grenada. Helicopters above the jungles of Panama carried my supplies. In Desert Storm, I was there when we crossed the border into Iraq…sustaining combat and paying the ultimate sacrifice as we liberated Kuwait.
I AM QUARTERMASTER. I can shape the course of combat, change the outcome of battle. Look to me: Sustainer of Armies…Since 1775.
I AM QUARTERMASTER. I AM PROUD.
Principled Thoughts 