MY MILIARY LIFE

It was a rewarding experience serving our country in the U.S. Army. Enlisting in August 1958, I served basic training at Fort Ord, Calif. Army base and attended the Naval School of Music in Washington, D.C. The experience and education received was invaluable to me later in life.

I completed my tour of duty at Ft. McArthur, a very small army base just outside Los Angeles, CA in the town of San Pedro. It was beautiful with tall trees and officer homes located right in front of a very large and well kept grassy parade ground. I was now a member of the 72nd U.S. Army Band. My duties included military parades and concerts several times a month on and off base. We did parades in various communities, school assemblies, and once played a concert in the famed Coconut Grove Dinner club in the plush Los Angeles Ambassador Hotel. We also performed in front of the hotel on their beautiful lawn facing Wilshire Blvd., the main artery from downtown L.A. to Santa Monica and the Pacific Ocean.

After my discharge in 1961, and 19 years later living in Nashville, Tennessee, I, along with my brother Roger, (a sax and clarinet player) having prior military service, decided to join the 129th TN Army National Guard Band. We traveled and performed all around Tennessee, Hawaii, and twice to South America. I once had the honor to perform for President Ronald Reagan. Then together as a duo known as the "Musical Minutemen" we entertained at many Army base theaters in Germany. After 20 years we both officially retired from the TN 129th Army Guard Band, Roger in 1998, (who is totally retired now), and myself in 1999. It was a great and lasting experience especially now with the retirement benefits that come along with military service. Feel free to view some photos from various times throughout my military career.