With more
than 600 of their fellow National Guardsmen serving around the world
- and scores in the Persian Gulf region - the Delaware Guard's 287th
Army Band has a special feeling about the free holiday concert it
will perform tonight at the Grand Opera House in Wilmington.
"I have some friends over in Iraq," said Sgt. 1st Class Mary
Righos of Pike Creek, a flutist who has been with the 287th for 25
years. "I get the feeling that I'm doing a little bit for them."
The concert is planned as a salute to the families of deployed
troops, Guard officials said. It is open to the public and no ticket
is necessary to attend. Donations will be accepted, though, to
benefit a state fund for families of troops and to purchase phone
cards that enable deployed troops to call home.
A choral group from the new Delaware Military Academy also will
perform during the event.
Military units worldwide are known for using music to inspire,
encourage and honor troops. The value of music is seen as so
important that "tuba player," "flute player," and other
instrumentalists are job descriptions in the U.S. military.
Delaware's band members have an "augmentation mission," too, said
Chief Warrant Officer Charles E. "Ed" Hockersmith of Newark,
commander of the unit. They are trained to support military police
whenever necessary.
About four U.S. military band units are in Iraq now, Hockersmith
said. British and Scottish bands, too, have been there since early
in the conflict.
"Bands are important," Hockersmith said. "It's a morale factor
for the troops. It helps instill esprit de corps within the group;
it's a focal point for military ceremonies. So much of it is
tradition."
Hockersmith said that without much of a stretch, Delaware's 287th
can trace its roots to Col. John Hazlett's Regiment, which had
drummers and pipers during the Revolutionary War.
It has not been called to active duty since the Korean Conflict,
he said, but it is ready if called.
"Everybody understands when you put that uniform on, you have
sworn to defend the Constitution," he said. "You take it seriously.
I don't think you've seen any pictures of Guardsmen kicking and
screaming and having to be dragged off to war."
Hockersmith, who is the librarian at Kirk Middle School, has been
with the band for 25 years and has been its commander for more than
two decades. When he started, there were 12 to 15 members, he said.
Tonight, about 45 musicians, ranging in age from about 18 to 56,
will be on hand for the concert, he said.
The band plans to perform a suite of Gustav Holst's works, music
by Mannheim Steamroller, a Celtic carol, Stephen Bulla's "Rhapsody
for Hanukkah" and many traditional Christmas songs.
Reach Beth Miller at 324-2784 or mailto:bmiller@delawareonline.com
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