The Ballad of Rodger Young

[6][7] Loesser decided to write the song about a Medal of Honor recipient, so he obtained a list of awardees and searched them for a name that would scan.

[11][12] According to World War II veteran and historian Paul Fussell, the song "proved too embarrassing for either the troops or the more intelligent home folks to take to their hearts.

[12][14] The return of Rodger Young's body to the U.S. for burial in 1949 accelerated interest in the ballad again, with "best-selling" recordings of it being made by "a host of singers" before the end of the year,[10] including Burl Ives, Nelson Eddy and John Charles Thomas.

John Bush Jones writes that this "singularly moving", "simple but affecting song"[14] "had a powerful impact on Americans at the time".

[15] While Loesser's melody emulates folksong,[6] a normally pacific genre, the text of the song unapologetically glorifies military valor.