As your parents or grandparents will remember, this was a popular song of World War II, written by composer/lyricist Frank Loesser, whose works later included the Broadway hits Guys and Dolls, The Most Happy Fella and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. The last – at least the title – really ought to be our national anthem now.
But that isn’t what Loesser had in mind. His song purportedly sprang from the actions of a Navy chaplain, William Maguire, who “left his altar” during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and – “in the unholy roar of that torrent of bombs” – manned a gun station for his wounded flock, blasting away at the “Nips” and crying, “I just got one of them!! Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition!!”
According to the official Frank Loesser website (www.frankloesser.com), “Praise The Lord and Pass the Ammunition” sold more than two million records and one million copies of sheet music while the war endured: “The Office of War Information restricted its performance over the airwaves to once every four hours, lest the public tire of it.”
[Peter Kurth]
I remember a TV show in the 50's (I've Got a Secret, maybe?) in which this chaplain's 'secret' was that he was that chaplain. His story was that the enemy had disabled the ammo elevator(s) to the guns and the sailors were doing the bucket brigade to let them keep fighting. One of the sailors asked him "What do we do now?" or something similar, and "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" was the reply.
The chaplain did not mention taking over a gun (most likely he wasn't trained for it) but he did encourage the men during the battle....
I remember a TV show in the 50's (I've Got a Secret, maybe?) in which this chaplain's 'secret' was that he was that chaplain. His story was that the enemy had disabled the ammo elevator(s) to the guns and the sailors were doing the bucket brigade to let them keep fighting. One of the sailors asked him "What do we do now?" or something similar, and "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" was the reply.
The chaplain did not mention taking over a gun (most likely he wasn't trained for it) but he did encourage the men during the battle. I don't remember the ship or the battle, but it's most likely on that TV show. Are there archives?
As your parents or grandparents will remember, this was a popular song of World War II, written by composer/lyricist Frank Loesser, whose works later included the Broadway hits Guys and Dolls, The Most Happy Fella and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. The last – at least the title – really ought to be our national anthem now.
But that isn’t what Loesser had in mind. His song purportedly sprang from the actions of a Navy chaplain, William Maguire, who “left his altar” during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and – “in the unholy roar of that torrent of bombs” – manned a gun station for his wounded flock, blasting away at the “Nips” and crying, “I just got one of them!! Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition!!”
According to the official Frank Loesser website (www.frankloesser.com), “Praise The Lord and Pass the Ammunition” sold more than two million records and one million copies of sheet music while the war endured: “The Office of War Information restricted its performance over the airwaves to once every four hours, lest the public tire of it.” [Peter Kurth]
I remember a TV show in the 50's (I've Got a Secret, maybe?) in which this chaplain's 'secret' was that he was that chaplain. His story was that the enemy had disabled the ammo elevator(s) to the guns and the sailors were doing the bucket brigade to let them keep fighting. One of the sailors asked him "What do we do now?" or something similar, and "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" was the reply. The chaplain did not mention taking over a gun (most likely he wasn't trained for it) but he did encourage the men during the battle....
I remember a TV show in the 50's (I've Got a Secret, maybe?) in which this chaplain's 'secret' was that he was that chaplain. His story was that the enemy had disabled the ammo elevator(s) to the guns and the sailors were doing the bucket brigade to let them keep fighting. One of the sailors asked him "What do we do now?" or something similar, and "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" was the reply. The chaplain did not mention taking over a gun (most likely he wasn't trained for it) but he did encourage the men during the battle. I don't remember the ship or the battle, but it's most likely on that TV show. Are there archives?