MARCH 11-14, 1999 REUNION
REGISTRATION DEADLINES SET
Because of our contractual commitments with the hotel, it is necessary for those planning to attend the reunion to send their completed registration form and checks or money orders to Frank Schlatter, Reunion Coordinator, 3111 Futura, Roswell, NM 88201 by the deadline of FEBRUARY 15, 1999. The registration for each alumni member, which will cover the cost of two evening banquets, the Sunday morning continental breakfast, transportation to reunion activities outside the hotel, the alumni directory, and annual dues for 1999-2000, is $95. Family members and friends who will also be attending the reunion will not have the alumni directory and annual dues included in their registrations and their fees for the reunion will be $80.
It should be noted that the Steering Committee is investigating the possibility of one or more of our reunion events being underwritten, and if we are successful in that endeavor, participants will recieve a reimbursement for whatever amount we receive from outside sources.
The projected on-site registration time at the Sheraton National is from 2 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 11, 1999. No formal activity is planned for that period of time, though it is anticipated that alumni and guests will wish to remain in the registration area to renew acquaintances and to make new ones. If an earlier 40 year + or - reunion of 33rders in Albuquerque in 1997 provided any clue as to what may occur during the registration period, all alumni and guests will thoroughly enjoy these informal proceedings. Immediately following the registration period, we will board buses and attend a concert of the U.S. Army Band, conducted by Col. L. Bryan Shelburne, Jr., C.O. of the USAREUR Band from 1980-1982.
The reunion will close following a Sunday morning breakfast and business meeting of the association. In between the Thursday and Sunday sessions, a variety of informal activities is scheduled. Note the word "informal." None of the events is scheduled to require formal attire, including the Friday and Saturday evening banquets.
Friday evening is to be our German night, and following a German meal prepared by the hotel chef, former members of the band will have the opportunity to participate in providing an evening of German misic. The preliminary repertoire may include any or all of the following: MARCHES: Fehrbelliner Reitermarsch; Erzherzog Albrecht; Unter dem Doppeladler; Radetzky; and to end with: Alte Kameraden & Stars and Stripes Forever; WALTZES & OTHERS IN 3/4: In Munchen Steht ein Hofbrauhaus; (Auf geht's Buam Landler); Uber den Wellen (Over the Waves); Dort tief on Bohmerwald; Volkstumliche Polonaise; 2 or 3 Schunkel-Waltz medleys; POLKAS & OTHER NON-MARCHES IN 2/4: Trompete-Echo; Rosamunde; Liechtensteiner Polka; Eviva Espana; Joachimthaler-Polka; Schonbrunner-Polka; Promenaden-Polka; Fur meine Freunde; and NUMBERS FEATURING VARIOUS SECTIONS: Klarinetten-Muck'l; Jagerchor from Freischutz (for Horns); a Trombone trio...
The hotel has set aside time in the afternoon on Friday and Saturday for "band rehearsals". The Friday time slot is from 2 to 4 p.m.; the Saturday time slot is from from 4 to 5:30. Whether the various activities that we are projecting for Friday and Saturday will make it possible for us to take advantage of these time slots remains to be worked out. The full schedule of events will be made available to registrants in February and/or on opening day of the reunion
The last three months have been busy ones as witnessed by the number of changes indicated by the list that follows. The individuals who are identified in this list have either been recently "found" or the newsletter editor has been notified of a change in address, telephone, or some other aspect of the listing previously made for him or her. These are the new listings: (Note - In order to preserve confidentiality, addresses and phone numbers will not be listed in this on-line issue of Passing In Review. That information can be obtained by calling or writing: Frank Schlatter, 3111 Futura, Roswell, NM, 88201, 505-622-6898, e-mail obfusa@rt66.com)
BARTON, Dale, Oboe, Sax, Banjo and Accordion, (88-96)
BELLE, Milton M., Jr., Trombone (79-93)
BELLE, Julie, Flute (70s)
BENCIVENGA, Tony
BLACKBURN, Donald, (59-62)
BOOTH, William, (75-76)
BOYT, Billie L., Trumpet (64-68)
BRITTAIN, Dan, Staff Band Officer (mid 70s)
CATHCART, Johnny
CHOATE, James
CLARK, William
CURFMAN, Fred
DIGIACOMO, Art
DITOMMASSO, Tony
DORRELL, CW2 Gary (89-93)
DRAKE, Kenneth, Piano (55-56)
FLEMING, Larry, Trumpet (79-81)
GALARNEU, Fred, Drums (53, 58-63)
GREGORY, Sheffey, Euphonium, Tuba & Electric Bass (78-82)
HAMILTON, LTC Finley
HAWKINS, Bobby, Bassoon (75)
HEINZ, Charles
HINES, George, Trombone (70-72)
HUGGINS, Ralph
ISAAC, J.P., (58-60)
JEFFREY, Tom
MANTZKE, George, Baritone (55-56)
MCCONNEL, Russ (Deceased)
MCNAIR, Jack, (72, 80s)
MENDEZ, Mary
MORRIS, Alvin W., Sax & Bass Guitar (79-85)
NEER, Teresa Collins, Flute (73-74)
NOLAND, Mike, (80s)
PEFLEY, Alan, (76)
PENCE, David R., Saxophone & Drum Major (88-90)
PETRELLI, Manio
PRATO, Richard, Drums (60-61)
RIDDICK, Nathaniel, (59-61)
ROBERTSON, Larre K., Trumpet (70-71)
RUTHERFORD, Billy D., French Horn (64-67)
STOEKER, Mary
STOKES, Bill
STONE, Dennis S., Trombone (early 70s)
SWANSON, Peter, Bass Clarinet (78)
WEBER, Kathleen (Fleming), French Horn (80-81)
WESLEY, Carl, (late 80s - early 90s)
WIESNER, Harald
WOLTHER, Rick, French Horn (78-80)
WRIGHT, Robert, Trumpet (early 60s)
[Ed. Note: In the previous issue Tom described some of the scene in Beirut when the band traveled ther in 1958. What follows has to do with the flight home.]
The C130 was loaded with mail bags. Out instruments were cargo netted to the rear ramp. We sat along the sides. I don't believe we had reached 1,000 feet on take off when the plane shook like a dog coming out of the water. An emergency bell went off and the crew chief came running into our area banging on pipes or wires. He shouted a warning of a possible ditch into the water.
The Beirut Airport runway goes right out into the ocean. He warned not to inflate the life vests until we were in the water. Don Duncan and I immediately knew that those s.o.b.'s prayers to "allah" back in Beirut were about to be answered!
We made rhe runway, but upwind, and landed safely. While we adjourned to the terminal building and shook, the crew addressed the problem. About an hour later we were called out to the plane on the runway and told by the pilot that the problem (stabilizers or flaps or rudder out of sync-- like we cared) had been corrected and we could leave again. We had a scheduled stop at Naples Naval Air Station.
One cat said he was not getting back on the plane--and he didn't. JP [Cochrane] was cool and asked if I wouldn't stay with him. I wanted to get home. I gave him cigarettes and some bread. He wound up flying home several days later on another plane. (Yeah I know his name.)
I think about three hours from TD at Rhine-Main we hit the worst storm I've ever encountered. It threw the plane every which way but loose. "Allah" was still trying. Everyone got sick. We were never sure if it was cold K-rations we ate on board the plane, or food many of us had bought from street vendors in Beirut while we waited for our early flight which took place in late morning, or the combination of the preceding plus the storm. It was a flight that none of us wanted to take again.
Greg Miller (57-59) wanted to add a few of his observations. After reading Tom's initial account in the earlier newsletter, Greg wrote: "I enjoyed reading Tom Kolbe's reminiscences of the trip to Beirut. I remember certain additional items, I hope accurately. I know he's going to talk about the flight home next time, so I wont barge in on that now. I remember setting up our music stands on the sand, and the breeze that frequently wanted to blow the music stands down (I can't recall for certain whether any of the stands actually bit the dust). I also remember that even though the Labanese military may not have cared for our jamming, there were other people who did. (Is my memory accurate, or did a sword swallower show up to entertain after the bar filled up a little?) As I recall, the hotel was the Bristol.
"On the C-130 plane from Rhine Main (and Naples) to Beirut, it was extremely noisy. Someof us (Charlie Nier, Doug Soyers, and I, and I think Jim Kracmer) played bridge every minute we could. We had a special series of hand signals for our bidding: 1 Spade--one finger followed by a digging motion. 2 Hearts--Two fingers followed by placing the hand over the heart, as in cardiac arrest. 3 Diamonds--Three fingers, then point to ring finger on left hand. 4 Clubs--four fingers followed by a sharp downward motion of the right fist. 5 No trump--The whole five fingers followed by horizontal shaking of the hand, to indicate refusal. It worked pretty well. Postmortems were limited too, since we couldn't hear each others' complaints anyway."
Dee Tonning (our association webmaster who was with the band in 1956-57) provided the following story:
Upon arrival, we learned that the Army was about to embark upon winter field maneuvers, and band members were going to participate. An advanced detachment of about ten men was needed immediately to go and help set up the headquarters. Ralph C. Church, the 33rd Commanding Officer, decided he would send his three new men, and six or seven of his "troublemakers". Our duties would be to prepare the headquarters facilities, then after the maneuvers began, we were to perform KP duty, serve as waiters, make beds for officers, and do whatever other grunt work that needed to be done.
Ralph called us into his office to give us our assignment. Normally you come to attention and salute when you report to an officer, but everyone just sauntered in with their hands in their pockets and slouched in front of his desk. Unsure of what to do, I just followed their lead and stood there at ease. He ignored the breach of military etiquette and introduced himself to his three new arrivals. He asked me where I was from and I answered "Idaho". He replied "Oh that’s where they grow all of the corn" - a mistaken reference to Iowa. He then got down to business and began to tell us what he expected of us during the maneuvers. He got about three sentences into his speech and paused to make a point when the new man from New York, who was standing next to me, unleashed one of the most stunning examples of flatulence that I had ever experienced. On any other occasion it would have cleared the room. He must have been saving it up since our ship left New York Harbor. Everyone got a shocked look on their face, then, unable to help myself, I snickered. Ralph was beside himself. He looked me straight in the eye, waved his finger and shouted "We don’t need smart asses like you around here." He then called us all to attention and proceeded to read us the riot act. It was only my second day in the 33rd and I was already a screw-up in his eyes.
The next day we three new men were called into Sergeant Anderson’s office and told there had been a foul-up in our orders and that we were supposed to have been assigned to an Army Band stationed in London, England. He went on to say that since the 33rd was in need of clarinet players, they had requested and received permission for me to remain in Heidelberg. That was the last I saw of my two shipmates. This turn of events suited me because I much preferred to spend my time in Germany rather than England.
About three days later our advanced detachment was to be shipped to Ludwigsberg, Germany to help make preparations for the field maneuvers known as "Operation Bear Claw". The night before, however, those of us in the advance crew went to the Patton Lounge and drank more than a few bottles of beer. Upon returning to the barracks, George Mantzke, one of the old timers, was venting his spleen about our assignment and ripped a bulletin board from the wall. When Ralph found out about it the next morning, he vowed to make an example of George and court martial him upon our return from the field maneuvers. With that, the group of us climbed into the back of a truck and headed for Ludwigsberg.
The temperature was still below zero and the back end of that truck was like a freezer. We put on all of the clothes we could find and wrapped up in blankets and sleeping bags and tried to sleep. The roads were glare ice, and the truck driver looked and drove like a 16 year old high school dropout. An hour into the trip, the truck broke down and we were stranded. About two hours later, another truck arrived and picked us up. After another couple of hours we finally arrived at a Kasern in Ludwigsberg and found some heat. We spent more than three weeks there, setting up bunks, making beds, mopping floors, serving as kitchen help, etc. It made a fellow proud to be a soldier, playing such an important role in stemming the tide of communist aggression.
I had not had a pass yet to go into town because of a ten day quarantine period for all newly arrived personnel. That period expired while I was there so my first trip to town and interaction with the German public occurred in Ludwigsberg. I was fascinated. I was walking streets that were 500 years old and mingling with people who ten years earlier had been shooting at us. There were horse drawn carts and chimney sweeps in tall hats. There were open street markets and houses with straw roofs. It was like a combination of Disneyland and the middle ages and I loved it.
Upon our return to Heidelberg, Ralph was true to his word. He had court martial papers waiting and was ready to prosecute George. Instead of filing charges for disorderly conduct and the damaged bulletin board, Ralph had decided to blame him for the incident in his office. The official charges against George read "For excreting an odorous gas in the presence of an officer". When these papers were presented to the Judge Advocate’s office for action, they laughed their heads off. Needless to say, the court martial was never carried out.
Fred Galarneu (53 & 58-63), who was with the band during the Beirut trip , supplied us with a picture taken on that trip, an undated article appearing in the American Weekend Entertainment Guide when CWO Cochrane was the C.O. (58-60), a program related to John F. Kennedy’s visit with the troops on 25 June 1963 (the USAREUR Band being in the Honor Guard), plus a number of other pictures. The American Weekend article (circa 1959) reads as follows:
To old-timers, the precision group leading the troops past the reviewing stand was old hat. To those newly arrived and those viewing their first Campbell retreat, they could only swear a soldiers oath in admiration of their first look at the famous USAREUR Band.
At any given time between the second and fifth of the following June, any of these same 36 bandsmen could be found somewhere near the French border as they carried out their mission in a routine command post exercise.
This, then, begins to tell the behind-the-scenes story of a band that has thrilled audiences from Berlin to Arnheim, Holland, and from Epinal , France to Beirut, Lebanon, with intricate drills and dance routines—done to modern music on the field, with concert hall performances of works ranging from the old masters to music written exclusively for band by contemporary composers, and with the solid, swinging, driving sound of a large 14-piece dance band.
Versatility is the key word in accomplishment of mission by the 33rd Army Band, Special Troops, Hq USAREUR, commanded by CWO John P. Cochrane. It must be able to transform itself from marching band to concert band. And it does so with precision.
(Note - The forms for the hotel reservations and reunion registrations are not included with this on-line issue of the newsletter. They may be obtained by contacting Frank Schlatter at the address listed earlier in this newsletter.)