Office of Personnel Services - Oklahoma D-day 2008

From field manual FM 21-100 dated July 23, 1941:
You are now a member of the Army of the United States. That Army is made up of free citizens chosen from among a free people. The American people of their own free will, and through the men they have elected to represent them in Congress, have determined that the free institutions of this country will continue to exist. They have declared that, if necessary, we will defen our right to live in our own American way and continue to enjoy the benfits and privileges which are granted to the citizens of no other nation. It is upon you, and the many thousands of your comrades now in the military service, that our country has placed its confident faith that this defense will succeed should it ever be challenged.
Making good as a soldier is no different from making good in civil life.The rule is the same and that is-know your own job and be ready to step into the job of the man ahead of you. Promotion is going to be very rapid in this Army. Be ready for it. You will have little time to learn the duties of a noncommisioned officer after you become one. You will be expected to know those duties and show that you know them. At a moment's notice you may have to take charge of your squad as a corporal-and in a critical hour. In the same way when you are a sergeant you cannot tell under what conditions and at what hour you may have to take the place of your lieutenant. You want to know what is expected of you and be ready for it.
In making yourself an efficient soldier you are hhelping to build a defense for our country that nothing can destroy. You are repaying your obligation to the United States for all the benefits of the past and are declaring your faith in our future. If you will make a part of yourselfthe following characteristics of the good soldier, you will be doing your part in upholding the glorious reputation of the Army of the United States:

Be obedient. - Obedience means to obey promptly and cheerfully all orders of your commissioned and noncommisioned officers. At first you cannot be expected to know the reason for everything you are ordered to do. As you remain longer in the service and you understand more of the reasons for military training you will find hthat everything hhhas been figured outas the result of experience in the past. ways and methods which have been successful in the past are continued until some new way proves better, and then the change will be made. Cheerful obedienceleads to a better performance of your duties. It makes it easier for all your comrades to do their part. It means better teamwork.
Be loyal - Loyalty means that you must stand by your organization through thick and thin. Boost your organization at every opportunity. Be loyal and true to your officers, your noncommissioned officers, and your comrades. In this way you will be loyal to your country.
Be determined - Determination means the bulldog stick-to-it-iveness to win at all costs. During your training keep everlastingly at the most difficult tasks and never give up until you have mastered them. Determination to win means success in battle.
Be alert - Alertness means being always on your guard. A good soldier may be pardoned for failure, but never for being surprised. Should the unexpected happen, use your hehad and do something, even if it si wrong, rather than "lie down."
Be a member of the team - Teamwork menas that each man in the squad, platoon, company, troop, or battery gives everything in his power to make for the success of the whole unit. Success in battle depends on teamwork just as much as success in a football game depends on the pull-together spirit of the football team. Unless you play your own special part the team may not win.