Information About Willie Lee Duckworth, The First Creator Of "The Duckworth Chant" ("Sound Off") Military Cadences

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents information gleaned from the internet about Willie Lee Duckworth, the first creator of  "The Duckworth Chant" ("Sound Off") military cadences.

"The Duckworth Chant" ("Sound Off") are call & response military cadences that sparked the creation of other American call & response marching and running chants during World War II and beyond.*

The content of this post is presented for historical, folkloric, cultural, and educational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Willie Lee Duckworth for his cultural legacy and thanks to all those who are quoted in this pancocojams post.

* Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_cadence for information about military cadences.
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/05/some-early-examples-of-duckworth-chant.html for a pancocojams post on some early examples of "The Duckworth Chant" ("Sound Off") military cadences.

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
Some of these excerpts present conflicting stories about how and why and with whom Willie Lee Duckworth  created "The Duckworth Chant" ("Sound Off") military cadences
-Did Private Willie Lee Duckworth originate what became "The Duckworth chant ("Sound Off")
spontaneously (without a commissioned officer directing him to chant?) If a commissioned officer did command him to start a chant, why did that officer do that, and why Duckworth and not some other soldier?

-Were the men who were marching during that time only the eight Black soldiers in that unit or was it the entire unit?

-When Fort Slocum's commanding officer Col. Lentz asked Private Willie Duckworth in 1944  why he sung that chant, which of the two different answers that Duckworth gave at two different times was correct?: "It just came to me" or "I thought of it because it reminded me of calling the hogs."
-snip-
I think that the first explanation is much closer to the truth. And the reason why Willie Lee Duckworth thought of a chant like that was because he was raised in the African American music tradition with Black American Old Time plantation dance songs & work songs, shanties, Gospel songs, Blues, etc. that have the same rhyming verse structure, call & response pattern, and syncopated rhythms.

**
Unfortunately, there's no documentation of the earliest lyrics for the "The Duckworth Chant" ("Sound Off") military cadences. Notice that there are a number of references in these and in other online websites about early examples of "The Duckworth Chant" ("Sound Off") that its verses were revised or created with "the assistance of" Fort Slocum's base commander Col. Bernard Lentz and musicians/training instructors at that army base. 

This pancocojams post retains the spelling of the "Negro" that was given in one of the excerpts with a lower case "n". This word -with or without that spelling- is no longer formally or informally used as a referent for an African American person or for African American people. 

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SELECTED EXCERPTS FROM THESE INTERNET WEBSITES
These excerpts are quoted in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.

Excerpt #1
From https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/123694798/willie-lee-duckworth

"Willie Lee Duckworth Sr. Veteran

Birth

8 Jan 1924

Sandersville, Washington County, Georgia, USA

Death

9 Feb 2004 (aged 80)

Sandersville, Washington County, Georgia, USA

Burial

Green Grove Church Cemetery

Washington County, Georgia, USA

Memorial ID

123694798  

In the winter of 1944, Pvt. Willie Lee Duck­worth Sr. forever changed the landscape of Army marching drills when he created what's now called the Sound Off (Duckworth Chant).

He was ordered to drill his fellow troops by his white commanding officer, who believed the soldiers needed more pep in their steps.

What resulted was the Duckworth "Sound Off" chant or cadence.

The young private created a rhythmic chant that helped his fellow soldiers keep time, provided motivation and boosted their morale.

The popularity of "Sound Off" among the GIs was noticed at the Pentagon, and before VJ Day, copies had been distributed by the War Department to U.S. military posts around the world.

Duckworth's composition has been recognized by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers since 1951, according to ASCAP's Repertory department in New York City.

Duckworth was a sharecropper's son and worked in a sawmill before being drafted into World War II. After leaving the Army, he used royalty checks from Sound Off to help purchase equipment to start his own pulpwood business, which he ran until his death in 2004, at age 80.

The song appeared in a 1949 film called "Battleground" and the 1951 movie "Sound Off," starring Mickey Rooney. The title song was recorded and sung by RCA Victor vocalist and bandleader Vaughn Moore, a film and TV actor in the 1940s and 1950s.”…
-snip-
This page includes a photograph of  Willie Lee Duckworth wearing a formal United States army uniform, including a cap. 

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Excerpt #2
From https://www.onlineathens.com/story/news/state/2012/07/06/georgia-soldier-creator-sound-cadence/15604987007/ Georgia soldier creator of 'Sound Off' cadence

Associated Press, July 5, 2012
"SANDERSVILLE - In the winter of 1944, Pvt. Willie Lee Duckworth Sr. forever changed the landscape of Army marching drills when he created what's now called the "Sound Off (Duckworth Chant)."

As a member of the nation's segregated Army, Duckworth was marching with his fellow black soldiers during a cold day at Fort Slocum, N.Y.

According to Duckworth's oldest daughter, Connie Duckworth Pinkston, her father was ordered to drill his fellow troops by his white commanding officer, who believed the soldiers needed more pep in their steps.

[…]

Duckworth was a sharecropper's son and worked in a sawmill before being drafted into World War II. After leaving the Army, he used royalty checks from "Sound Off" to help purchase equipment to start his own pulpwood business, which he ran until his death in 2004, at age 80.

John "General" Mills, a former professional boxer and Sandersville native, is credited with instigating a movement to recognize Duckworth.

"I heard about Willie Lee's accolades, but I didn't see anything in the town that gave him any credit. Heck, I figured if Harlem (Ga.) could give comedian Oliver Hardy a museum and Macon could name a bridge for Otis Redding, then we needed to step up and give our guy some attention, too," said Mills, who lived most of his adult life on Long Island, N.Y., until returning to Georgia after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The Mills-led committee, along with community activist Rosby Gordon and state, city and community cooperation, was able to successfully honor Duckworth with the renaming of a section of Georgia Highway 242 to Willie Lee Duckworth Highway.

The committee raised enough money to honor Duckworth with a granite marker that is placed on the Washington County courthouse grounds.

Georgia Rep. Mack Jackson, D-Sandersville, presented Duckworth's wife, Edna Duckworth, with a legislative resolution honoring her late husband. The document was signed by members of the Georgia House of Representatives. She died in April.

Layne Kitchens, the president of the Washington County Historical Society in the county seat of Sandersville, said, "We are very proud that Mr. Duckworth is from Washington County and of his accomplishments that put us on the world map."

Pinkston said her father was always a creative soul.

"Our dad was a jokester," she said. "He would tell us short, funny stories. He was the type of person everyone liked to be around. 'Sound Off' was his independence. After leaving the Army, he bought a tractor, wood truck, saws and developed his own pulpwood company. He treated his employees well, and to this day they still love him."

Pinkston and Mills credit Col. Bernard Lentz, the superior officer at Fort Slocum who recognized that Duckworth's creation warranted copyright protection. Lentz saw to it that Duckworth's work was legally protected by ASCAP.

The song appeared in a 1949 film called "Battleground" and the 1951 movie "Sound Off," starring Mickey Rooney. The title song was recorded and sung by RCA Victor vocalist and bandleader Vaughn Moore, a film and TV actor in the 1940s and 1950s.

[…]

Adrian King, a Georgia music educator and Army veteran, said he recalls marching to the Duckworth chant while stationed at Fort Jackson, S.C.

"We recited the cadence primarily during boot camp. It was motivational and also served to bond our unit," said King, adding that he never realized the composer was a native Georgian.”…

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Excerpt #3
https://archive.org/stream/the-duckworth-chant-sound-offthe-jody/TheDuckworthChant%2CSoundOff%2C%26theJody_djvu.txt

The Duckworth Chant, Sound Off, & the Jody:

Origins and Evolution, 1944-1952

by Michael A. Cavanaugh

michaelacavanaugh@earthlink.net

www.home.earthlink.net/~michaelacavanaugh

permission to cite (with appropriate credit to the above) freely granted

draft current as of Jan. 2006, supercedes all previous versions

material in preparation for history of Davids’ Island & Fort Slocum, NY

..."I have read most of the primary sources, as well as background material, and listened to the early recorded versions; and here is my interpretation.

There were only about 8 Black soldiers at Slocum, segregated; one officer claimed it was impossible to drill them, and the responsibility was handed to recent draftee Pvt. Duckworth, on detached service with the Provisional Training Center (PTC).

Marching back with about 200 soldiers from bivouac at Ardsley, 13 miles away, Duckworth made up the chant. Back on post, it caught on. Col. Lentz heard it, summoned Duckworth, who by one account explained that it came from calling hogs in his Washington Co., GA, home; in another, that he just made it up in his head. Lentz, a minor songwriter in his own right (whose compositions include “Don’t Bother Father When He’s at the Bar”), either commanded, or approved, its use on post. Slocum had an
active band during WWII, and its musicians (or in another account, the PTC staff) worked the Duckworth chant into Sound Off — indeed, if anyone was exploited in the process, it may have been the musicians of this anonymous band! The music and lyrics were then copyrighted jointly in 1950 by Lentz and Duckworth with Lentz’ NYC publisher Shapiro, Bernstein & Co. (ASCAP considers that royalties are due to the writers of “Sound Off’ from Jodies used in military-themed films such as Battleground, Sound Off!, Private Benjamin, An Officer and a Gentleman, Full Metal Jacket — and
also such non-military films as The Ice Age, The Dead Poets Society, and Bruce Almighty. To the end of his days Willie Duckworth continued receiving royalties, and his widow Edna Duckworth does to this day; and so do the heirs of Col. Lentz.)

According to one version, Duckworth and Lentz between them wrote 23 verses. “Sound Off’ was recorded on an unnumbered 1945 V-Disc at Slocum by two Rehabilitation Classes under the direction of S/Sgt. Henry C. Felice and Pvt. James Tyus, and by the WAC detachment under the direction of S/Sgt. Gladys M. Woodard. Its first cinematic appearance was in the 1949 Academy Award winner, Battleground. The published 1950 version was recorded by bandleader Vaughn Monroe in 1951, and featured in the 1952 Blake Edwards film “Sound Off’ starring Mickey Rooney. Col. Lentz incorporated it into later editions of his book.

What then is the relationship among Duckworth, Lentz, and the modem Jody?

First, the published 1950 “Sound Off’ has a definite link to the Jody, in that there is a verse about a civilian stealing a soldier’s girlfriend; except that (in one of two versions) the civilian is named “Alvin” not “Jody.” One of the earliest recorded versions, 1945, has either “Shorty” or “Jody” back home when the soldier left (though other early versions clearly have “Jody”), though neither Shorty nor Jody has yet got your girl much less your Cadillac. But the improvisation that continues in the later developed Jody is just the point of the Duckworth chant: make it up as you go along. Eskimos, GI grits, My Recruiter, Viet Cong, C-130s, whatever. There is also in both 1945 & 1950 versions the call-and-response [Sound Off (one-two) Sound Off (three-four)] that continues in later decades, though as we shall see this too is subject to a process of development "

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Excerpt #4
Pancocojams Editor's Note: The page numbers are placed in the bottom of each page. 

From https://www.horntip.com/html/books_&_MSS/2000s/2008-02-04_the_duckworth_chant_anthology_primary_sources__michael_a_cavanaugh_(WORD)/2008-02-04_the_duckworth_chant_anthology_primary_sources__michael_a_cavanaugh.pdf 
"The Duckworth Chant: An Annotated Anthology of Sources

Draft current as of 1 Feb. 2008

Cite with permission & attribute:

Michael A. Cavanaugh

michaelacavanaugh@earthlink.net

It appears that the Duckworth Chant, originally a marching cadence also known

as the Jody (which in its later versions has been a jogging cadence), was developed at Ft.

Slocum, N.Y., late in WWII. It was originated by a Black private, Willie Lee Duckworth, Sr. (a native of Sandersville, Washington Co., GA), in May 1944 while marching back to post from a bivouac nearby in Westchester County at Ardsley. The cadence caught on among the troops, who continued to use it on post. The post commanding officer, Col. Bernard Lentz, heard the cadence. Since WWI, Col. Lentz had been known as the author of “the cadence system of teaching close order drill.” Not only did Lentz approve the chant, he authorized its use, and soon the post band as well as others on the post staff were at work on its development"...

There was no audio recording of the original chant, nor any known attempt to transcribe its original lyrics. Reading between the lines of several published lyrics, it is clear that some of them trace to Ft. Slocum and are as early as late 1944. Over time various stories have been told about its origins. This document is an attempt to transcribe sources about its origins, at least some of the major ones, and to put them in chronological order. These sources have been put together here for the first time.”…

[page 1]

[...]

II. Introduction to V-Disc (1945)

In an undated V-Disc, three separate versions of the chant were recorded at Ft. Slocum: one with T/Sgt Henry Felice and a Rehabilitation Class7 ; one with S/Sgt Gladys Woodard and the WAC Detachment; and another with Pvt James Tyus and a Rehabilitation Class. Although the disc is undated, Rehabilitation Classes did not begin until early 1945. Although production of V-Discs continued until 1949, the Rehabilitation Classes ceased in 1945. The third version alludes to Hitler not yet being defeated. The three versions are prefaced by a recorded introduction, spoken by Felice.8. Substantially the same statement is also printed in the editions of Col. Lentz’ work on drill, The Cadence System of Teaching Close Order Drill (1951; p. 77) and The Cadence System of Teaching Close Order Drill and Exhibition Drills (1955; p. 70).

'On a cold spring evening in May 1944 as the Provisional Training Center9 was returning10 from a long tedious march through swamps and rough country, a chant broke the stillness of the night. Upon     investigation, it was found that a negro soldier by the name of Willie Duckworth, on detached service with the Provisional Training Center Fort Slocum11, was chanting to build up the spirits of his weary comrades.

It was not long before the infectious rhythm was spreading through the ranks. Footweary soldiers started to pack12 up their step in cadence with the growing chorus of hearty male voices. Instead of a down trodden, fatigued company, here marched 200 soldiers with heads up, a spring to their step, and happy13 smiles on their faces. This transformation occurred with the beginning of the Duckworth Chant.

Upon returning to Fort Slocum, Pvt. Duckworth, with the aid of the14 Provisional Training Center instructors, composed a series of verses

[page 3]

and choruses to be used with the marching cadence. Since15 that eventful evening the Duckworth Chant has been16 made a part of the drill at Fort Slocum as it has17 proved to be not only a tremendous morale factor while marching, but also coordinated the movements of close order drill with troop precision.

[…]

In the days following the bivouac, Colonel Lentz was amazed to see drill teams and work squads marching briskly to their tasks, chanting

[Page 8]

as they went. The “Old Man” summoned Private Duckworth and asked him the origin of the song. “I made it up in my head,” the Negro soldier from Georgia explained.26

[…]

Colonel Lentz forthwith incorporated “the Duckworth chant” in the daily drill at Fort Slocum. With the help of musicians on the post, Willie’s creation was transcribed and later, was published in a revised edition of the colonel’s “The Cadence System of Teaching Close Order Drill.”27 To the original verses, the composer’s fellow-soldiers added dozens of new ones, some of them printable.28

[page 9]

[...]

.... T/5 Duckworth ... did not leave the Army until discharged until 1947. 34 Throughout his life he continued to collect royalties, and after his death these continued to flow to his family. As to the amount of royalties, cf. the 1989 Boyd interview, below

[page 10]

IX. Possibly Pittsburgh Courier (nd; maybe ca. 1951)

From the family files of Willie Lee Duckworth36 is an article identified only as “Courier Magazine Section, 3” but which may well be from the Pittsburgh Courier, a Black newspaper distributed nationally. It must postdate at least the 1949 film Battleground it mentions, as well as Vaughn Monroe’s 1951 recording. It does not mention the 1952 Mickey Rooney film Sound Off nor the 1961 Titus Turner R&B recording.

'Willie Lee Duckworth Was Lucky When His Song Caught the Fancy of Col. Lentz.

WILLIE LEE DUCKWORTH was not a goldbrick in the Army, but he sure made it pay off, with a helping hand form his commanding officer at Fort Slocum, New York, Colonel Bernard Lentz (above, left), now in retirement at Larchmont, New York. Today one can hear the fruits of Duckworth’s labors on the radio, television, on the fields of colleges, on juke boxes -- everywhere.37 You see, Willie Lee Duckworth (above at right) is the author of “Sound Off,” the rousing marching song that is better than a thousand recruiting posters.

Willie, who now lives in Sandersville, Georgia, simply grew tired of the same old grind of slogging wearily along on hikes. One day in 1944 he and 200 other soldiers were returning to Fort Slocum, boots dragging and bored. Then Willie started to chant, making up the words as he went along, in strict military cadence. The boys arrived at the post on the double, on time. Duckworth kept up his chant and drill teams hopped to it.

Colonel Lentz, an authority on close order drill, immediately incorporated Duckworth’s chant into the daily drill. Colonel Lentz, a songwriter in his own right, pushed the chant and later it was published by Shapiro, Bernstein and Company. The rest is history. The GIs can even use “Sound Off” to air their complaints. And they do. The song made the rounds of military installations and was used as incidental marching music in the MGM picture “Battleground.” Vaughn Monroe made a recording

[page 11]

[…]

Col. Lentz was the originator of the Lentz system of “sound off” cadenced drill, widely used in the Army. He was the author of songs and helped Tin Pan Alley singer Willie Duckworth to get to the top singing “Sound Off” songs.'41

[Notes on page 11:
41 No evidence is offered for this “Tin Pan Alley” characterization, and what evidence there is suggests otherwise. First of all there is no evidence that Duckworth ever recorded anything. If he got to the “top,” it was by succeeding in getting royalties for a one shot deal (see below, 1989 Hollingsworth interview; he reckoned himself the only ASCAP member with only one song to his credit). Second he neither came from Tin Pan Alley, nor landed there. The 1930 census shows him in Sandersville, Washington Co, GA, ae. 7, son of George Duckworth, laborer; his military records show him from the same place, pre-war occupation light truck driver; and newspaper articles cited below show that he returned there after military service, working in a mill, aspiring to buy a truck (as in fact he did, in part thanks to song royalties) and run a pulpwood business. As the Hollingsworth interview (see below) indicates, after 1952 he never again traveled by airplane! So: Tin Pan Alley, urban sophisticate, gettin’ over on the Man (though with the Man’s connivance)?

42 As a matter of fact, Lentz’s book on the cadence system went through several editions from 1919 to 1941. However the term “Sound off” does not occur, nor does the counting of cadence, 1,2! 3,4!, in any of them. What was distinctive about Lentz’s system is that the troops, not just the drillmaster, vocalize commands (all the standard commands of the Infantry Drill Regulations) as they are executed. From the edition of 1951 onward, “Sound off” and “1, 2! 3,4!” are mentioned, but specifically in connexion with the Felice Special Platoon Drill and particularly the Duckworth Chant, both of which came from Ft. Slocum in WWII.

[...]

ASCAP member

His payment comes through ASCAP, the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers. ASCAP, according to Duckworth, is like an insurance company -- they retain a percentage, and send the rest on to him. Sheet music is still available.

Duckworth says he is the only member of ASCAP that has just one song. He tried to write others, and sent them off to publishers, but they were returned with the comment that the publisher (at that time) only printed folk songs and he had written rock and roll. He sent them to a publisher on the West coast, but there were contract problems with Shapiro, Bernstein.

In the 60s Duckworth had a band of high school boys called the “Rocketeers,” that performed all around the area, but as the members graduated, the band folded.

Willie Lee Duckworth was born and raised in the Linton Road area of Washington County. He attended T.J. Elder School, quitting before graduation to go into farming. September 4, 1944,51 he was drafted and sent to New York, where he helped load and unload ships.

He was later sent to Okinawa, returning home in 1947.52 His first job was at a sawmill, but in 1954, Duckworth was able to go into the pulpwood business, using the residuals from the song to purchase a truck.

Now age 65, Duckworth has slowed down some and turned the business over to his son, Willie Lee Jr., but he still helps his son many days.

December 29, 1944, home on furlough after basic training, Pvt. Duckworth married Edna, his wife of almost 45 years. They have one son Willie Lee Jr., and five daughters Connie Pinkston, Delores Duckworth, Gail Jenkins, Barbara Ann Jackson and Betty Jean Griner; eighteen grandchildren and one great grandchild.

His eyes light up when he says “I love fishing!” Duckworth is planning his retirement years at his favorite fishing holes at Clark Hill and Lake Oconee, each depending on the seasons of the year. “I’m going to fish as long as I’m able,” he promised.

A fire in 1960 completely destroyed the Duckworth home and any souvenirs of his Army days, or of the Sound Off days. 

One of the most treasured souvenirs was a silver coin, with George Washington Carver on one side, backed with Booker T. Washington. 

Duckworth had gotten the coin on a trip to Joplin, Missouri for some publicity for the Sound Off film.53 He says he was presented his coin one 

[Note 51: His military records show his date of service as commencing 14 Aug 1943. If indeed he invented the Duckworth chant at Fort Slocum by May 1944, the official dates would seem to be more believable.

52. His military records show he reenlisted 25 Dec. 1945 on Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, where he stayed until 19 Feb. 1946. Records do not show when he left Ft. Slocum, nor under what circumstances. He was separated from the service 21 Jan. 1947 at Ft. Eustis, VA.

53: See the New York Times article, above; in fact he received the first annual Carver Award.

[page 21]

an hour before President Harry S. Truman received his copy of the coin. His flight to Missouri was the last time he flew in a plane.

Also lost were his copies of the 45 rpm recording of Vaughn Monroe singing Sound Off.

Duckworth is an active, self-assured man who is very comfortable with the fame his song has earned. He is excited over the recognition his community will be giving him at the Kaolin Festival this fall.

[page 22]"...

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Excerpt #5
[This is a complete quote of the summary to the YouTube sound file: "Duckworth Chant Ft Slocum 1945 VDisc TSgt Felice Intro & Main Version"]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6bhv4i8qso&t=173s 

published by Michael Cavanaugh, Jul 22, 2013
"In mid-1944, then-Pvt. Willie Lee Duckworth Sr., detached from Camp Kilmer NJ to Ft. Slocum NY for Provisional Training, devised a marching cadence.  It is known first as the Duckworth Chant, later as the Jody Call;  it was also copyrighted as Sound Off and various pop recordings were made of it.  Although he first [revised* it on post, Duckworth led it (as the introduction here recounts) marching back from bivouac in nearby Ardsley.  After Duckworth returned to post, he was called in by the Commanding Officer, Col. Bernard Lentz.   (He is shown in front of the tent.)   During WWI Lentz had invented The Cadence System of Teaching Close-Order Drill, and was enthusiastic about Duckworth's cadence.   In the time remaining before returning to Kilmer, Lentz detailed Duckworth to work on the cadence with instructors in the Provisional Training Center, including T/Sgt Henry "Jack" Felice, seen on the viewer's right in the group shot, and WO Edward "Eddie" Sadowski, then leader of the post band, the 378th Army Service Forces Band.  Felice reads the introduction, then leads the standard version of the Duckworth Chant;  together these formed the A side of a V-Disc recorded at Slocum in Raymond Hall in 1945 with inmates of what had then become the Rehabilitation Center. (That is Felice leading the Chant in the marching photo with the water tower in the background.)    After the War, Lentz copyrighted the chant as Sound Off;  he shared the royalties with Duckworth, and to this day they continue to come in to both the Duckworth and Lentz families.   In 2009 a committee of local admirers led by Rosby Gordon placed this granite marker on the grounds of the courthouse in Washington Co, GA, T/4 Duckworth's home county;  at the same time a portion of GA State Hwy 252, running in front of Duckworth's house, was named in his honor.   Duckworth's chant, the Jody, remains a staple both of military life and of popular culture  (from the soundtracks of military-themed films to jingles such as SpongeBob Squarepants)."

-snip-
*This word is given as "devised" in this summary.

This sound file is showcased in the closely related pancocojams post https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/05/some-early-examples-of-duckworth-chant.html.

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Excerpt #6
From https://www.army.mil/article/51827/u_s_army_jody_call_has_black_roots U.S. Army Jody Call has black roots by Ms. Yvonne Johnson (Army Homepage)February 14, 2011
"ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. - In basic training, every recruit learns that a young Soldier by the name of Pvt. Willie Lee Duckworth is credited with creating the original "Sound Off" also known as the Duckworth Chant in cadence calling.

Few realize, however, that Duckworth was a black Soldier from Sandersville, Ga., who created the chant to build up the morale of foot-weary troops on an extended march through rough, swampy country.

The night Duckworth began his chant, leaders noticed a remarkable change in the marching troops.

According to historical records, there was a spring in their step as they responded to Duckworth's chant. It caught the attention of Col. Bernard Lentz, the post commander who along with the training center instructors helped Duckworth compose a series of verses and choruses to be used with the marching cadence.”…

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Excerpt #7
https://blog.massfolkarts.org/index.php/tag/duckworth-chant/

Calling Track and Military Cadence Calls: How an African American Tradition Influenced Military Basic Training

Maggie Holtzberg, Ph.D, State Folklorist, Massachusetts Cultural Council, February 15, 2011
..."I recently uncovered a connection between the southern African American tradition of call-and-response works songs and  military cadence calls used in drill training, popularly known as “Jody calls.” Anyone who has gone through basic training is familiar with these military cadence calls. A drill instructor, whose job it is to keep recruits in step while training, calls out marching orders. Cadence calls motivate, while ensuring unit cohesion and promoting military discipline. Safety is a factor as well, especially while marching or running in close formation. Similar to the railroad workers’ calls, military cadence calls are also a way to take one’s mind off strenuous tasks, vent dissatisfaction, mock one’s superiors, or build morale by boasting, poking  fun, or talking dirty. As verbal art forms, both have a rich tradition.

Popular legend holds that that Private Willie Lee Duckworth Sr. (1924-2004) made up “Sound Off”, a.k.a., the “Duckworth Chant,” which is used to this day in the U.S.Army and other branches of the military.  The year was 1944 and Duckworth was stationed at Fort Slocum, New York as one of eight “Colored Infantrymen.”

Duckworth, who was born in 1924 in Washington County, Georgia, would have been familiar with the use of work chants sung for all kinds of agricultural work. He was also the same generation of the gandy dancers who used chants to line track. At the time he was drafted to serve in WW II, Duckworth was working in a sawmill. He was sent to a provisional training center in Fort Slocum, N.Y., in March 1944. As the story goes, Duckwork, on orders from a non-commissioned officer, improvised his own drill for the soldiers in his unit. Soon after, all the ranks were buzzing and keeping rhythm. Col. Bernard Lentz, who was the base commander at the Fort, approached Duckworth and asked where he developed his unique chant. “I told him it came from calling hogs back home,” Duckworth said. “I was scared, and that was the only thing I could think of to say.”

Colonel Bernard Lentz was so convinced of the cadence calls’ effectiveness that he made them standard at Fort Slocum and went on to write a drill instruction manual.  The “Duckworth Chant” was popularized in 1945 when the US government included it with other popular music of the day on a  V-disc (12 inch vinyl 78 recording) for distribution to US military personnel overseas. The chant later gained fame as “Sound Off” and remains one of the most popular marching cadences in Army history."...

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Excerpt #8
From https://maconmelody.com/remembering-the-vet-who-made-the-armies-march/ Remembering the vet who made the armies march By Ed Grisamore, November 7, 2024
"Willie Lee Duckworth was born 100 years ago and raised by his grandparents in a sharecropper’s house east of Sandersville.

He was working in a sawmill when he was drafted into the Army during World War II and sent to a provisional training center in Fort Slocum, New York, in the spring of 1944.

It was the first time he had ever been more than 100 miles from home.

His story is now known all over the world, though.

In 2002, I interviewed Duckworth and his wife, Edna, in the living room of their small, blue house on Highway 242, not far from where he grew up in kaolin country.

Two years later, he passed away at the age of 80. Like so many of the Greatest Generation, he was gone. He was laid to rest in an African-American cemetery at Green Grove Church along a dirt road off Highway 27.

That was more than 20 years ago, so Duckworth never had a chance to “Google” his name. (Or if he was even aware there was such a thing.)

If he had, he would have seen the words “musical composer” next to Willie Lee Duckworth.

Imagine that.

[…]

I described him as “an unsuspecting buck private from Georgia who authored one of the most popular marching cadences in military history.’’

He was the veteran who made the armies march.

A non-commissioned officer at Fort Slocum asked Duckworth to improvise a drill for the nine black soldiers in his unit. Duckworth admitted to having no qualifications, except for “calling hogs back home.’’

But he came up with a rhythmic cadence used to keep his fellow soldiers in marching formation.

Originally known as the “Duckworth Chant,” it later gained popularity as “Sound Off’’ and became the standard for helping to keep soldiers in step and their spirits high.”…

….With the assistance of base commander Col. Bernard Lentz and others, the cadences went through several revisions over the years, and the War Department distributed copies to U.S. military posts around the world."...

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Excerpt #9
https://dublinlaurenscountygeorgia.blogspot.com/2014/04/sound-off-one-two-sandersville-man.html WILLIE DUCKWORTH
Posted by Scott B. Thompson, Sr.
 April 02, 2014

"SOUND OFF, ONE, TWO!

Sandersville Man Marched to A New Tune

… "This is the story of Private Willie Lee Duckworth and how a simple verse changed the style of the military marching for decades to come.

Willie Duckworth grew up like most African-Americans of the Great Depression in the South.    Earning only enough money to survive, he worked as a share cropper and sawmill worker until he was drafted away from his native Washington County and into the United States Army. 

It was a cold spring night in 1944.  Private Willie Lee Duckworth and two hundred of his buddies were tired, tired of marching and just plain tired, period.  The company had just left their bivouac at Ardsley, New York for the thirteen-mile march back to their camp at Fort Slocum in New Rochelle.  Private Duckworth noticed the men were dragging their feet.  He was too.  He thought that something should be done to invigorate the column to get them to pick up their stride to get back to the warmth of their barracks.

It all began in a meager way, quietly at first.  By the end of the march, the men were belting out the tune as they double-timed their pace and arrived back at the fort and on time.  The private's simple staccato cadence was "One, two, sound off; three, four, sound off; one, two, three, four; one, two, three-four."  Then the alternate verses began.  One of the most popular was "Ain't no use in going home. Jody's got your gal and gone. Ain't no use in feelin' blue. Jody's  got your sister, too! Sound off, one, two. Sound off, three, four."

 A wave of excitement permeated every company at Fort Slocumb.  The post commander Col. Bernard Lentz, enjoyed it as well.  For a quarter of a century Col. Lentz had been working on a method to remove moil from the mundane forced marches and inspire his men to march with precision and vigor.  Col. Lentz, a recognized expert on close order drill, required that all of the men at the fort drill and work while chanting Willie's refrain.  Col. Lentz was astounded to see the instant and rapid improvement in morale and productivity.  Col. Lentz called Private Duckworth to his office to explain how he came to invent to the rhythm of the chant.  Duckworth simply responded, "I made it up in my head."  Fifty eight years later, Duckworth confessed to columnist Ed Grisamore of the Macon Telegraph, "I told him it came from calling hogs back home."  "I was scared and that was the only thing I could think of to say," he added. 

With the aid of post musicians, new arrangements of the song were composed, replete with a couple dozen new verses.   Since its origin, thousands of verses of the song have been sung, many of which are not printable.  Many of the verses reflect the complaints of the every day foot soldier, like "the captain rides in a jeep, the sergeant rides in a truck, the general rides in a limousine, but we're just out of luck" or "I don't mind to take a hike, if I could take along a bike.  If I get smacked in a combat zone, gimme a Wac to take me home."  Col. Lentz incorporated Willie's song into his revised version of "The Cadence System of Teaching Close Order Drill."  Then the brass at the Pentagon began to take notice.  The first copies of "Sound Off" were distributed to military installations around the world just before the end of World War II.

Col. Lentz retired from the Army in 1946.  Boosted by the success of "Sound Off," the colonel began a song writer career of his own.  Willie Duckworth got out of the army and returned to Sandersville to await the torrent of royalty checks which kept flooding his mailbox.  Duckworth told Grisamore , "it made me famous for a while and put some money in my pocket."

[…]

For his outstanding contribution to the military and to the legacy of African-American accomplishments, Willie Duckworth was honored as the first recipient of the George Washington Carver Monument Foundation's annual achievement award.   On January 5, 1952, a ceremony was held near Joplin, Missouri at the home of the noted American scientist and inventor.  Col. Lentz was invited to attend the award presentation, which featured a rousing rendition of the song performed by an all-black glee club from nearby Ft. Leonard Wood.  In addition to a plaque signifying this distinct honor, Duckworth was presented with a modest stipend of two hundred dollars.  

 Willie Lee Duckworth spent the rest of his life in relative obscurity, hauling pulpwood and trying to make ends meet.   The royalty checks still came, though more infrequently in his last years.  The money he earned from that passing thought in his mind nearly a lifetime ago helped to support his family, who lived in a house on Highway 242 between Riddleville and Bartow.   His fame, known to a scant few of his fellow Washington Countians, was almost forgotten.  Just weeks past his 80th birthday, Willie Lee Duckworth died in February of 2004."

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