Introduction
I am training to be an infantryman. I am proud, for I know that when the last enemy stronghold is captured, it will be an infantryman, supported on the ground and in the air by thousands of other men, who will have captured that stronghold and held it.
As an infantryman, I must be a many-skilled soldier, more than a rifleman, a machine gunner, or a cannoneer. I must learn all that is necessary to achieve success in battle, to defeat or destroy the enemy.
To be part of a winning team in combat, I must learn obedience, to take orders and to obey, to respect my officers as well as my comrades. I must learn military courtesy and the customs of the service, how to salute and when to salute, how to live with other men in order to help them and, in turn, to receive help from them.
Because I am fighting to live, I must keep myself informed of the progress of the fight. I must know why I fight, and follow and appreciate the progress of millions of my fellows and millions of my allies as they help me in this fight across seven seas and seven continents.
As soon as I have learned how to take care of myself, I must learn how to take care of what Uncle Sam has given me. I must know how to care for my clothes and equipment. Waste means delay in my study to become a soldier.
After I have learned how to live, I must learn how to fight.
The book is then divided into the following sections:
