Tri-Service

Pentagon Refuses To Comment On US Soldier's 'Irish Rebel Song'

The Pentagon has refused to comment after footage emerged online appearing to show a US Army soldier singing the Irish rebel song “Go On Home, British Soldiers”.

The video, which has caused controversy online, appears to show an unidentified soldier on deployment singing the song, which includes the lyrics:

"We're not British, we're not Saxon, we're not English. We're Irish and proud we are to be. So f*** your Union Jack, we want our country back. We want to see old Ireland free once more."

After the singer finishes, he bows as he is applauded and cheered by a group of watching fellow servicemen.

A spokesperson for the Pentagon said they were not aware of the footage and refused to comment when contacted by Forces TV and sent a link to the video.

It was posted on the unofficial Facebook page “U.S Army W.T.F! Moments”, which posts comedy material related to the US Army, after they received it anonymously.

It was later taken down from the page.

A spokesperson for the page told Forces TV: "US Army WTF! Moments published a video recently of an American soldier singing "Go On Home, British Soldiers.

"It was brought to our attention that this song was actually... in support of Irish rebel forces from the 1960s, specifically the Irish Republican Army. Our page refrains from political matters so we decided it was in the best interest of our Facebook community to remove the video."

An unnamed moderator of the page, meanwhile, pointed to its rules on "negativity among allies" as another reason for its removal.

It is not known who originally shot the video or the identity of those involved - although its title suggested it was taken in Afghanistan and involved members of the 1st Cavalry Division.

US Army WTF! Moments added:

"We are not tracking the source of this video. We receive over 300 messages a day and unfortunately due to the fast pace of this page we do not keep track of these things."

The UK-based Facebook page Fill your Bootz shared a YouTube link to the footage on the Easter weekend and linked to the U.S Army W.T.F! Moments' post. More than 500, predominately negative, comments were posted in response.

America has close ties with Ireland, with 10% of the population, some 33 million people, claiming to have Irish ancestry. During the height of the Troubles groups such as the Irish Northern Aid Committee (NORAID) raised funds in America for organisations including the Provisional IRA.