INFORMATION STILL SOUGHT
FROM DELINQUENT MEMBERS
If you have Internet access and have not yet checked out the website for the 33rd Army Band Alumni Association, you will want to see what our webmaster Dee Tonning (56-57) has been developing for us. In addition to incorporating modified copies of our previous newsletters onto our site, Dee has recently added a section to identify those 33rders who have died between the time they served with the band and now. A directory for the association is also included, but minus addresses and telephone numbers. Those who are former members of the band are the only ones for whom such information will be made available by contacting either Dee or Frank. Dee can be contacted at 2265 Tawny Woods Pl., Boise, ID 83706, Telephone: 208-344-9654. His e-mail address is dtonning@aol.com.
The address for the newsletter editor and current coordinator of alumni activities is given above. Frank's telephone number is 505-622-6898, and his e-mail address is: obfusa@rt66.com. The website address is: http://www.rt66.com/~obfusa/33rd/
Alumni of the 33rd who have read the previous newsletters should realize by now that among those things that truly make the Passing In Review worth receiving are the stories and pictures that former members of the USAREUR Band have supplied for the publication. In this issue, for instance, are pictures that Paul "Pinkey" Smith (54-55) forwarded to us.
One of the shots from Paul is from the Fire Prevention Parade of October 9, 1954, taken on Frerich Ebert Alle. The second shows the band at Ansbaugh, Germany, a month earlier. On the back of the second photo, Paul has identified all those who are shown. So if you are an old-timer who was in the band at that time and would like to know who's who, just ask. According to the information provided, the leader of the band at that time was Mr. Reid.
Paul also sent some clippings from The Stars and Stripes. The first clipping from Volume 13, Number 289 of February, 1955 shows the band passing in review before the new USAREUR commander-in-chief. The story accompanying the picture is headlined "McAuliffe Assumes USAREUR Post." With a date-line of Feb. 1 from Heidelberg, the story's opening paragraphs are as follows:
For those of you who are not up on you WWII history, McAuliffe was the general in the beseiged city of Bastogne who gave a one word answer of "Nuts" to the emissaries of General Hasso von Manteuffel when they demanded the surrender of the 101st Airborne Division.
A smaller clipping from Paul told of a variety concert to be performed on April 24 of that year at the Flaming Sword Service Club of Patton Barracks. Conductor for that occasion was CWO Ralph C. Church. Selections for the evening included "The Poet and Peasant" overture, "Blue Danube", variety presentations by the Hungry Five, the band choir, and the Mexican march "Zacatecas". The clipping indicated that Pfc. Paul Smith would be the master of ceremonies.
In Arnhem, the 33rd did a dance routine while playing Glenn Miller's Pennsylvania 65000. The German Army Band was the first official German unit to visit Holland since the end of WWII. They were well received and made such an impression that by request of the other participating units, they performed a concert. I believe the concert was in the same hall where we later recorded.
The "Tatoo" was performed outside the Arnhem market place. The walls around the square created such great acoustics for military bands. We were housed in "Heidicamp", a Dutch AF technical school. It was laid out like a country village. It was thought prior to WWII that this layout would fool a potential enemy and conceal the true identity of the place. It apparently didn't fool the Germans in 1940.
Our guys were taken to a shed and told to fill up mattress covers with the straw therein for sleeping. The response from the 33rd members did not contribute to a bonding experience with our NATO brothers! The guys had to chase field mice from the straw.
We taught the Dutch that the club did not close at 2000 hours. They learned, thanks to the cooperation of our Canadian comrades, that the club closed as follows: (A) When no one was still standing, or (B) When no one had any money left or could not get the band instruments either to pawn or pledge same for more drinks. I think the club made enough money that week to re-do the whole club.
Beirut was a long friggin' plane ride. We went to Rhine Main AFB for a 0630 flight to learn we were departing closer to ten ot eleven. (Why were we not surprised?) We stayed in a large hotel in Beirut which was used for BOAC flight crews and BOAC passengers enroute to the East and Asia. The hotel was quite nice and you could get drinks in the lobby. I am not sure of the name--perhaps Bristol or Brewster. Hope someone else remembers.
We ate breakfast and dinner there. The maitre'd wore tails. When being briefed after arrival in the lobby, we had the pleasure of seeing several great looking women descend the staircase behind the briefing officer. Then we learned that BOAC flight attendants were also guests. We further learned that there was a curfew and no one could leave the hotel. We learned, too, that there were bars and bars; a rooftop bar was an especial favorite.
Some of the guys jammed at night, and the Lebanese Army didn't dig bop. We got the impression that the soldiers in the Lebanese Army Tank dug in on the street below would augment morning prayers with cries to Allah to do bad things to the American infidels and horn players.
We left each morning in trucks, with escort, to units in the field and played concerts of varying lengths. Returnig from a gig one afternoon we came upon a civilian bus which had been set afire by rebel gunfire. People could be seen scrambling up a hill and fleeing. We sent the trucks at intervals past the burning bus, fearing a fuel explosion. We frequently encountered burning tires in the roadway as road blocks.
I'm sure the most memorable event was the flight home... (To be continued)
From the time of the May newsletter (or through the editor's failure to list an individual previously), the following former and current members of the 33rd Army Band have been added to our "Found" list: (Note - addresses and telephone numbers have been purposely omitted for reasons of privacy. They may be obtained by contacting Frank Schlatter or Dee Tonning)
ALTMAN, Alan - (70-71)
BASTONE, Ruth Ann - Flute (90-94)
CANALES, Dan - Trombone (73-76)
CARSON, Searle H., Jr.
COLLINS, Teresa Neer - Flute (73-74)
CRAWLEY, Ken A. - (80s)
FINCH, John - Percussion (78-82)
FRANCO, James S. - Tuba (72-75)
GOFF, Steven - Saxophone (95-98)
JONES, Terrence L. - Percussion (early 80s)
MORRIS, Alvin W. - Sax & Bass Guitar (79-85)
RHOADS, Dan - Electric Bass
RHOADS, Vada - Trombone & Tuba (91-94)
RIDEOUT, Roger R. - Saxophone (70-71)
TOSTI, Michael - Trumpet (88-93)
TUTTLE, Paul C. - Clarinet, Sax, Basoon (72-74)
VEIKLEY, Steven J. - Trumpet (70-71)
WILSON, Dana - Percussion & Keyboard (70-71)
A check of the calendar for the current 33rd Army Band shows that a recent hilight in the band's activities was participation from May 28 to June 1 in an International Music Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia. The other activities appeared to be a bit more mundane: an international marching show at Munchen-Gladbach, a ribbon cutting ceremony at Tompkins Barracks (when the band hall apparently got a new name), the changing of commanders for the 33rd (from LTC Lamb to Major Thomas Rotondi), a Liedenfreund Anniversary at Seligenstadt with the Fest Band, and some ceremonies in Augsburg.
The 33rd Army Band's website has biographical information about the new commanding officer of the 33rd. It can be found at the following address:
Briefly, Major Thomas Rotondi, Jr. assumed command of the United States Army Europe Band in July. He is originally from the Chicago area and attended Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois from where he obtained a Bachelor of Music degree. He subsequently obtained a Master of Business Administration in Management degree from Golden Gate University, San Francisco, California.
He joined the army as a trumpet player in 1977, was comissioned in 1982 and had a series of assignments until his most recent one as the Deputy Commander of the U.S. Military Academy Band at West Point.
For the benefit of those who are just joining us and for those who didn't mark your calendars with the pertinent information, the 33rd Army Band Alumni Association will be holding a reunion at the Sheraton National Hotel in Arlington, Virginia, from Thursday, March 11 to Sunday noon on March 14. More specifics about the reunion will be included in the next newsletter--December 1998. Registration materials and added details will probably be sent at that time.
Most of the alumni who have previously sent in their completed questionnaires have indicated they plan to attend the reunion, so we are anticipating a great gathering in more ways than one! If you have not yet given us a clue about your intentions, that information is needed to help the Steering Committee finalize plans for the occasion. So please return the completed questionnaire if you have not already completed one!