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USAF Drum and Bugle Corps


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I never played in the USAF Drum and Bugle Corps, but I did play soprano horn in the Lackland AFB, Drum and Bugle Corps October, November, and part of December 1963.

We played retreat ceremonies and did some local parades. In addition we played at the basic training graduation ceremonies. Most of our music was traditional military marches, but one of our snare drummers, ex Cambridge Caballero DM, John Tyree, got the drum line to use the Hawthorne Cabbies street beat. We had a semi-cool instructor, SSGT Lykens who let us smoke and drink sodas when we were in the band room rehearsing. We were required to get set back three weeks in basic training in order to march in the corps. It was fun, and it was a helluva way to go through basic.

Was anyone else in the Lackland corps? I remember we had a Chicago Cavy french horn player and another horn player from the Belleville Black Knights...I believe his name was Mike Hartwell. Most of the other members played brass in bands. We used chrome g bugles with a piston and a ring slide.

Edited by parrotpaul
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At that time '62/'63 the corps was under the baton of SSGT Truman Crawford. It included many names that either had been or went on to be very involved in drum & bugle corps. I was privileged to have marched with many of them in Archie, such as Dick Filkins, Billy Kaufmann, Jimmy Dinkins, Bill Mojica and Ray Eyler, just to name a few.

I would suggest that on a scale of 1 to 10 its talent level was an 11.

J

Jim -

Jimmy Dinkins was my percussion instructor when I marched in the Alabama Charioteers (1971-1975) and Ray Eyler was our horn instructor. Later, Ray Eyler served as my first horn caption head and arranger when I founded Southwind in 1980. I owe a great deak of my drum corps experience to those two gentlemen. :ph34r:

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  • 3 weeks later...

I was lucky enough to see the USAF corps in '63. On a scale of 1-10 they were more like a 20. They were the first corps I ever saw doing suicide turns (head choppers). :tongue:

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  • 12 years later...

I was with the USAF D&BC in the late 50s.  TSGT Truman Crawford was our conductor.  I played 1st soprano and we had a fine section including Skip Groff, Ricardo Gabriel, George Witten, Joe College.  Our drummers were the best.  York County, PA is the heaviest contributor of men to the USAF D&BC in the U.S.  We had men in the Corps from York, Mt. Joy, Dallastown, Red Lion.  This was largely due to the involvement of "Spike" Sprigle, York High's band director who fell in love with the USAF D&BC and channeled many grads into the USAF Corps.  The York County alumni enjoy a monthly brunch at Lion's Pride Restaurant every 4th Tuesday.

 

Jan Dunnick, Red Lion

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 4/6/2008 at 5:32 PM, parrotpaul said:

I never played in the USAF Drum and Bugle Corps, but I did play soprano horn in the Lackland AFB, Drum and Bugle Corps October, November, and part of December 1963.

We played retreat ceremonies and did some local parades. In addition we played at the basic training graduation ceremonies. Most of our music was traditional military marches, but one of our snare drummers, ex Cambridge Caballero DM, John Tyree, got the drum line to use the Hawthorne Cabbies street beat. We had a semi-cool instructor, SSGT Lykens who let us smoke and drink sodas when we were in the band room rehearsing. We were required to get set back three weeks in basic training in order to march in the corps. It was fun, and it was a helluva way to go through basic.

Was anyone else in the Lackland corps? I remember we had a Chicago Cavy french horn player and another horn player from the Belleville Black Knights...I believe his name was Mike Hartwell. Most of the other members played brass in bands. We used chrome g bugles with a piston and a ring slide.

I just stumbled upon this old topic.  VERY interesting info about many DC personalities who served in the Bolling Corps, the USAFA Corps, or both.  I was Non Commissioned Officer in Charge and Musical Supervisor of the Lowry AFB "Golden Eagles" corps, 1969-1973.  We performed pretty well as much as you did at Lackland, with invites to off base jobs including field shows for the 1971 and 1972 Drums Along the Rockies shows in Colorado and Wyoming.   TSgt Keith Markey and MSgt Greg Lykens provided some charts for us as well as Dick Burns  (Blessed Sacrament) and  Fred Cartwright (Conn Hurricanes and Stratford Yankees).  Our membership was guys going through USAF Technical Schools at the base and they rotated out when they completed training.  This led to a constant turnover and recruitment of replacements arriving from basic training.   We had quite a few drum corps vets  (Fortunatly) from units that included the Conn Hurricanes, Casper Troopers, Madison Scouts, Racine Kilties, Skokie Vanguards, Rochester Crusaders, Santa Clara Vanguard, Chicago Cavaliers, and St Josephs of Batavia to name a few.  I managed to squeeze enough money out of the base for a set of Olds Ultratone horns and Ludwig marching drums.  The base and the corps are long gone, with the installation closed years ago and their mission transfered to other training bases.  I rotated back to my USAF job late in 1973, and retired from the USAF in 1989.

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  • 1 year later...
On 3/17/2021 at 4:08 PM, sam said:

I just stumbled upon this old topic.  VERY interesting info about many DC personalities who served in the Bolling Corps, the USAFA Corps, or both.  I was Non Commissioned Officer in Charge and Musical Supervisor of the Lowry AFB "Golden Eagles" corps, 1969-1973.  We performed pretty well as much as you did at Lackland, with invites to off base jobs including field shows for the 1971 and 1972 Drums Along the Rockies shows in Colorado and Wyoming.   TSgt Keith Markey and MSgt Greg Lykens provided some charts for us as well as Dick Burns  (Blessed Sacrament) and  Fred Cartwright (Conn Hurricanes and Stratford Yankees).  Our membership was guys going through USAF Technical Schools at the base and they rotated out when they completed training.  This led to a constant turnover and recruitment of replacements arriving from basic training.   We had quite a few drum corps vets  (Fortunatly) from units that included the Conn Hurricanes, Casper Troopers, Madison Scouts, Racine Kilties, Skokie Vanguards, Rochester Crusaders, Santa Clara Vanguard, Chicago Cavaliers, and St Josephs of Batavia to name a few.  I managed to squeeze enough money out of the base for a set of Olds Ultratone horns and Ludwig marching drums.  The base and the corps are long gone, with the installation closed years ago and their mission transfered to other training bases.  I rotated back to my USAF job late in 1973, and retired from the USAF in 1989.

I was lucky enough to be part of the golden eagles in 1971 (drum line). I had some incredible moments I’ll never forget while performing in places like central city, Wyoming, and countless stadiums during frontier days. Went to tech school at Lowry AFB and then stationed back home in Hickam AFB, Hawaii

Aloha to all the friends and airmen of Lowry AFB

Me Ke Aloha Pumehana

Al

 

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There was a time, and that time being c. 1962, when the USAF D&B Corps was the best drum corps on the face of the earth, period. They had the talent, the staff and the show that set the standard for just about everybody.

I desperately wished to fulfill my military obligation with them when Uncle Sam came looking for me in 1968. Truman put me "on the list", but I didn't bubble up to the top in time before the Draft Board got its turn.

Excellent Service Corps still exist: USMC, Naval Academy, Air Force Academy, Coast Guard, Army Old Guard, and West Point Hellcats. Perhaps someday the Pentagon will adjust its priorities such that one of them can be the finest in the world.

Until then, that USAF corps will hold that title.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 8/8/2022 at 9:16 PM, ironlips said:

There was a time, and that time being c. 1962, when the USAF D&B Corps was the best drum corps on the face of the earth, period. They had the talent, the staff and the show that set the standard for just about everybody.

I desperately wished to fulfill my military obligation with them when Uncle Sam came looking for me in 1968. Truman put me "on the list", but I didn't bubble up to the top in time before the Draft Board got its turn.

Excellent Service Corps still exist: USMC, Naval Academy, Air Force Academy, Coast Guard, Army Old Guard, and West Point Hellcats. Perhaps someday the Pentagon will adjust its priorities such that one of them can be the finest in the world.

Until then, that USAF corps will hold that title.

That corps was a stacked deck, no question.

Lord knows how many future Hall of Famers, movers and shakers, visionaries, and so forth, were part of those USAF corps at Bolling AFB. 

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It would be interesting to find a roster of those members in 62 ... and other rosters as well ... I know a few but, not all the players. 

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37 minutes ago, ajlisko said:

It would be interesting to find a roster of those members in 62 ... and other rosters as well ... I know a few but, not all the players. 

I believe that Bob Zarfoss of the WDC Hall of Fame would have that roster. Give me a call and I'll put you in contact with him.

Many of those cats are in the Hall: Simpson, Martin, Dinkins, Eyler, Bosworth, Goodheart...etc.

 

 

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