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Im my search for media materials concerning the 1971 Lynwood (Hollywood) CA DIPLOMATS Jr. Drum and Bugle Corps, I'm asking if perchance anybody who either marched in or was connected with the 1971 AMERICAN LEGION NATIONAL DRUM & BUGLE CORPS CHAMPIONSHIPS might have photos, programs, video, etc. of THE DIPLOMATS, who placed 6th that year. Please respond to Facebook page group LAKEWOOD/LYNWOOD DIPLOMATS DRUM AND BUGLE CORPS. Thanks, R. Housley.

1971 Lynwood, CA Diplomats Jr. Drum & Bugle Corps . Pictured is the end of JC Superstar Concert number.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHxEjoesxgs Velvet Knights on "Maude" TV show. Clip includes Wayne Bergeron, and ex-Diplomat soprano section mate Russell Rawls among others. (Originally found and posted by Ms. Nancy Holgate: mahalo!) RON HOUSLEY

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Fran: 74 Kingsmen's Toledo performance is on xkingsmen.com in the media section. RON HOUSLEY

The guy in the shades is 67 lead sop Peter Aguayo (spelling is probably way off). RON HOUSLEY 67 Kingsmen ..etc...

Anaheim Kingsmen and Kingsmen Alumni Corps rifle Dale Nissenson Gough taught Alberta when Fred Sanford, Mike Dufy and Ralph Hardiman did. There's a great old photo of all of them outside an elevator with Ralph wearing a purple disco suit....I wish I had it handy but it's most likely been published around here somehwere.

I checked with Tom Day at Bugles Across America and he, also, had presented her with appropriate medals and certificates. RON HOUSLEY

I posted this in the DCA Historical forum but didn't want the rest to miss it: Donna Mae Smith was the first woman bugler in the history of the US Army. Later she was an instructor and, apparently, drum major of The Hormel Girls Drum & Bugle Corps, the first all woman corps to compete in The American Legion Nationals in 1947. I wrote to her some years ago while doing research on The Hormel Girls and she was very kind to reply. A very sweet woman and very modest about her place in the history of field brass. Here's the story from her local paper: http://www.nrtoday.com/article/20090722/NE...entprofile=1057 Be sure to watch the video at the bottom of the page. RON HOUSLEY

This is Donna Mae Smith. She was the first woman bugler in the US Army and later a member of The Hormel Girls Drum and Bugle Corps. I had written her years ago while researching The Hormel Girls Drum and Bugle Corps, the first all-woman corps to compete at American Legion Nationals in 1947, and received a very nice and personable letter back from her....a very sweet woman and certainly modest about her place in the history of field brass. She recently was inducted into the Bugler's Hall of Fame and here's the story from her local paper: http://www.nrtoday.com/article/20090722/NE...entprofile=1057 Be sure to watch the video at the bottom of the page. RON HOUSLEY

RE: Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, MN. Sigh, I miss that old park. RON HOUSLEY (Mpls: 73-77)

Re: Just curious, were you with the Lynwood Diplomats in New Orleans in 68 for the AL Nat's? No, in August of 1968 I was in the US Army at Ft. Lewis, WA. I started teaching the Diplomats brass line in the fall of 1970 and was with them until just before AL Nationals in Houston in 71. There are a fair number of Lakewood-Lynwood-Hollywood Diplomats around who marched with the corps in 1968, a fair bunch who later marched with The Anaheim Kingsmen and even later The Kingsmen Alumni Corps in 2007 at The Rose Bowl. Here's The Diplomats page from Munson Chan's Scrapbook of Early California Drum and Bugle Corps: http://mellom007.tripod.com/Scrapbook2001/dippics.html Thanks, Munson........rock 'em and and sock 'em at DCA, Renegades! RON HOUSLEY

Re: The Diplomats at The National Orang Show and the disputed ten yards. From former Diplomat, author and chronicler of SoCal Drum Corps, Mr. Lloyd Kaneko: "...I remember the night perfectly well. The organizers or the judges never measured a standard football size field that went from goal line to goal line (100 yards). They measured the field including the enzones. When we set up off the cone, it was set at the outer edges of the field. When we came off the corner, we were already 10 yards out too far. As we made our approach to center from the corner, we came in on the 40 instead of the 50. If the tw'ts would have measure the field to a regulation size field, I think we could have taken that show. The left turn, right turn BS litterally sank us. We never got fair credit for doing the drill -- we got penalized for being off center. Not our fault -- certainly theirs although they refused to accept blame for their error. If I remember right, we left the trophy on the field after retreat -- in protest. It wasn't necessarily missing 10 yards -- they gave us 10 yards too many...." Thanks, Lloyd. Was it also that we did our opening drill all the way to concert whereas the other corps marched out to a song in their repertoire or did they also do a 1/2 drill to concert? I was sketchy on details so didn't include that part. RON HOUSLEY

Those old half-time shows featuring The Caballeros and other icons were, back in the b&w tv daze, almost the only chance us West Coasters ever got to see our idols live. That and the various Thanksgiving parades where we'd be glued to the set waiting to hear a drum corps cadence way off in the audio background and waiting for the first view of the guard's flags coming up the route.....the anticipation was palpable. RON HOUSLEY

Some great shots of Jan there, Garry, Give my respects to our favorite Skywench. I couldn't be happier that it all worked out for you two and continues to work out for you three. (Props to the Rene-Baby...and you, too, Dad!) Good luck to Renegades at DCA. RON HOUSLEY

A few more details were added to the above. RON HOUSLEY

At the 1971 Orange Show the field was marked 10 yards or so short on the left hand side of the 50. As it was a standstill most corps just marched out to the 50 and set up in concert formation. The Lynwood Diplomats ended up 10 yards short as we had practiced our entrance on a "regulation sized" field and took a penalty when the drum major had the corps execute a left face, march 10 yards and then right-face back into center field. it was Stanley Knaub, the Diplomats M&M instructor, who protested and had them re-measure the field, thereby discovering the missing 10 yards. I'll check with The Diplomats to get the exact story but it has been reported in Drum Corps World. I was there and saw it but it's one of those memories from almost forty years ago that's getting a big fuzzy. RON HOUSLEY

The 1970 Lynwood, CA, Diplomats appeared as a walk-on on the old Red Skelton Show. I haven't seen it yet but I do believe I heard that the music heard was a dubbed marching band. The corps itself had rehearsed "The Thunderer," I think. This was just before I started teaching the corps so I have to rely on the memories of the kids involved for the details. RON HOUSLEY

1967 Nationals in New Orleans with The Anaheim Kingsmen. I got drafted into The Army about a week before the corps left for their first Eastern Tour and I never got to finish out my last year in junior corps. RON HOUSLEY

Quote: "...That's a great way to perfect the movement, and a nice short story. It reminds me of the 1965 Troopers at Kennedy Stadium W.O. and that 50 yard company front in the opener. They didn't march, they would glide and stride..." It should come a no surprise, then, to know that the '67 Anaheim Kingsmen's drill instructor was Pete Emmons, nor that we did the same company front to the 50 that The Troopers were celebrated for, and did it quite well, thank you. Mr. Emmons set the foundation for movement that The Kingsmen would become known for. The late Mr. Fred Sanford was the percussion instructor that same year and The Kingsmen were all the richer for and got a huge boost from what we learned from them. RON HOUSLEY

The Anaheim Kingsmen "Five Minute Drill" was in place when I joined in the winter of 1966. Same rules: wandering eyes, poor posture, incorrect height in the leg lift? Stop and start again from zero. I can remember that drill going 45 minutes. Usually because after awhile we were so good at it that it became increasingly hard to find individual errors. I also remember water breaks that 66-67 season at one of the local high school fields where we baritones would fill our cups almost to the brim from the water fountain, form a company front, initiate elbow contact and "float" back to starting positions, start a full knee-lift mark time and then coming to a halt without spilling a drop before taking a drink. No wonder Army Basic Training was such a breeze for me. RON HOUSLEY

I had the pleasure of finally meeting the legendary Mike Duffy when I marched with Kingsmen Alumni Corps in 06 and he spoke well of his time instructing Alberta. For that matter so did Dale and others that went along for that ride circa 1974 (?). Wish I would have had the pleasure but was elsewhere doing other things. RON HOUSLEY