|
The 8th & I Reunion Association
An organization of Marines
who served at
Marine Barracks
8th & I Streets, S.E.,
Washington D.C.
The President's Own - United States Marine Band
The United States Marine Band is the premier band of the United States Marine Corps.
Established by act of Congress on July 11, 1798, it is the oldest of the United States military bands
and the oldest professional musical organization in the United States.
The President's Own - United States Marine Band
Some history of the Drum Major's Mace
When I first got to the Barracks and the Band's Drum Major was Hank Peter's, a really intimidating and impressive Marine SNCO and Drum Major, he used a mace that had a Silver Head on it that was sort of flat on the top of it. Hank Peters and Gene Belschner were to two most Drum Major appearing and acting Drum Major's I saw in all my life and especially during the Friday Night Parades when the Band was on one end of the parade deck while the D&B was on the other and they marched together and joined into one musical unit! Drum Major Danny Osher also carried that mace. Then while Drum Major Donovan was there Assistant Drum Major Jimerson was sent over to England to pick up a Bear Skin hat from Boosey & Hawkes. Their representative apparently kept him drunk right up until the time he put Jimerson on the plane to come and home and just before he walked through the departure point he handed Jimerson a brown paper bag and said here's the hat! When he got on the plane he examined it and it was a regimental dress hat, like our barracks cover, of one of the Guards Regiments. Needless to say when he got back to the Band it was difficult to explain his 10 days over there TAD and not getting the Bear Skin cover!
Then a new design for our mace was solicited from Boosey & Hawkes and the sent drawings over of the current mace which everybody loved. By now LtCol Harpham was Director and he arranged to send me over as his representative to approve and pick up the Mace. LtCol Harpham knew old Sir Jeffery Hawks very, very well personally and he called Sr. Jeffery and told him about the bear skin hat incident and that he was sending me over as his personal representative to approve and pick up the new mace and that I had his complete authority to reject it on the spot! LtCol Harpham decided to send along with me the buck sergeant who was our general handyman and gofer as a reward for all his great unsung work.
On the day after we arrived he and I in civilian clothes took the tube out to Middlesex where the Boosey & Hawkes factory was located. They made nearly all of the ceremonial equipage for the Brigade of Guards, the Royal House and the rest of the British Armed Forces. In WWII they had produced plane engines for bombers and fighters. We were immediately taken with great fawning to the Board of Director's Conference Room where the entire Board of Directors were present. We ate a nice light lunch after being introduced to everyone and the atmosphere was pretty strained. After lunch they had the mace brought in and it was unwrapped from it's cloth case and shown to me. I closely compared it to the drawing I had brought along to make sure all the wordings were correctly spelled in accordance with what had been approved and such. I was in utter awe of the workmanship that was apparent, especially on the head of the mace itself. It was beautiful! They all relaxed and became very friendly after I said that I would accept it but I told them I wanted a damage proof carrying case to transport it back to the Barracks and they were tickled pink to only have to do that. They arranged for Sir Jeffery's chauffeur, Ernie, to drive us back to our hotel on the Strand in his Rolls Royce limo.
He made arrangements to pick us up the next morning and drive us up to Windsor Castle for a special tour Sir Jeffery had arranged for us. We saw a lot of the castle that is not normally shown and it was awesome. On the way back he stopped in a small out of the way English village called Hurley on Thames. We had an early dinner there in the 2nd oldest Inn in England having been founded around 1325 AD something. It was supposed to be the 2nd oldest Inn in England. We had the best steak I have ever eaten anywhere in the world, and I have eaten Kobi steak in Japan and steak fixed on the King Ranch down in Texas. When we got back he dropped us off to see one of the British shows in a theatre and gave us tickets to another theatre the next night for a interesting show. Since we were there for 10 days TAD and the previous year I had met the new Director of the Royal Marine Band when he had visited us we decided to visit him. He had wanted to visit Gettysburg when he came over so I got a staff car and driver and took him up and gave him a really good tour of the Battle field as well as Antetium which wow'ed him. We took the train down to Deal on the souther coast to what was then the Royal Marine "Bootcamp" where he had a Sgt and SSgt meet us at the train. We had lunch with him and his wife at their house and then a tour of the Band watching them rehearse. That evening was a SNCO Evening at which the CO requested the privilege of the Sgt's Mess from the Regimental SgtMaj, which of course was granted. I wedged myself in between a pillar supporting the upper floor and the bar and drank gin tonic's all night long. I have always gotten sick on the smell of beer and simply can't get it down my throat!!!!! That night after everybody turned in I went into the head and gave up an offering to the God of Porcelain, took a handful of aspirin and went to bed setting my alarm for an hour before Reveille! I was fresh shaved and squared away and went as Reveille was being sounded knocking on the doors of my host Sgt and SSgt cheerfully wishing them a great morning and suggesting we hustle over to the mess to eat! I tormented them all day long, though it damned near killed me. I did get satisfaction of seeing them hustle to the coffee everyplace we went first thing and muttering something about those Damned American Marines!" Of course my buck sergeant was right with them.
The Adjutant was a Major who rode a horse all around the base with jodhpurs, spit shined riding boots complete with spurs and whip/crop. Our host took us the next day to see Canterbury and the Cathedral there as well as the old Dover Castle.
When we were ready to leave Ernie showed up with the mace in a custom made metal carrying "box" that was painted glistening black with white lettering on it "US Marine Band, The President's Own" and a carrying handle. It took some doing but I managed to talk the Chief Stewartress of the Pam Am 747 which we were flying on to allow it to be stored in the cabin instead of the hole. We were supposed to fly into Baltimore where we would go through customs where everything was arranged. But for some reason we were re-routed into the new Pam Am International facilities at JFK which was sort of new itself. They made us go through custom's there. I paid for what I had declared and then they demanded I pay fee's for the Mace! I tried to reason with the arrogant custom's guy at that spot while line was growing behind me. I explained it belonged to the US Government in the form of the Marine Band, "The President's Own" and that we were directly under the command of the President himself. He still demanded I pay for it. So I decided to go into my Gunny role and get pissed off and I told him he could jam the G-damned mace up his ass because I wasn't going to pay the government for what the government had just purchased and he could damn well be prepared to explain to the White House why he had seized the Mace of "The President's Own Band"! I started stomping off with him chasing me and people stopping and staring. this brought his supervisor who was just as bone headed so I got even madder and louder. Finally I attacked the attention of a Custom Officer who was a Major and I calmly explained it all to him. He made a call to BWI and they confirmed it all so I got to bring it with me on the continuing flight to BWI without having to pay for it.
I believe this is the same Mace that is still used today.
The Drum Major's bearskin cover used to have a beautiful large brass insignia of the Marine Band on it's front and a gold chain running from one side to the other connecting at gold uniform buttons. It really was impressive but Drum Major Donovan didn't like it and wouldn't shine it and finally talked Col Schoepper into allowing him to remove it since it looked so "dingy"!!!!!
I had early told you about getting Dennie over from the D&B to be Drum Major. I was wrong slightly in my relation of it to you. Col Schoepper was still the Director and the position was to be a replacement of Assistant Drum Major Jimerson who had been transferred back to the regular Marine Corps as a MSgt with a new date of rank starting upon that reassignment. Major Harpham was put in charge of finding the new replacement for Jimerson. The rest happened as I stated though.
Jimerson was a really good guy. You husband may have know him. He was married to an Islander named Pearl. He became a stone alcoholic. He couldn't function unless he had at least a pint of vodka in him and he drank 110 proof. Finally things had gotten so bad that Drum Major Donovan went to Col Schoepper and told him about it so it was decided he would be transferred back to the regular Corps which was actually what Jimerson wanted. Then Snellings got involved and arranged for him to go back at his old regular rank as GySgt with an entire new date of rank commencing upon his return. It was just plain wrong, but another attempt by Snellings to get back at the band for not making him an Assistant Director. So Jimerson decided to play the "race card" and rightly so in my humble opinion, and CMC's office got involved directly in the transfer. Jimerson went back a MSgt but lost his time in grade. Snellings was able to brag he had screwed Jimerson but the truth got out that he really had not gotten what he had wanted.
Submitted by 8th & I Marine David "DB" Wright, Drum & Bugle Corps and U.S. Marine Band, 1965-1974 / USMC 1959-1974, Vietnam veteran, Las Vegas, NV
12-13-16 ... DAVID "DB" WRIGHT'S MEMORIES OF MGySgt JAMES DONOVAN, DRUM MAJOR, U.S. MARINE BAND "THE PRESIDENT'S OWN"
The below photo of a B-25 (WWII era) reminded me of a great story once told to me by MGySgt James Donovan while he was Drum Major of the US Marine Band, "The President's Own!" While a SSgt & GySgt PIO of the US Marine Band, I worked around the Drum Major quite a bit and during a relaxed session one day he told the below story grinning all the time at recalling it.
At the great Victory Parade in Washington, DC at the end of WWll, all the branches of our Armed Forces, including the US Coast Guard (which fought as a part of the Navy), marched down Pennsylvania Avenue past the White House with a massive fly over of every kind of plane we used during that war.
Then a young Marine, Big Jim Donovan (he was 6-06 tall) managed to hitch a ride in a Marine PBJ in a USMC Squadron (USMC & USN designation of B-25) as part of the Marine fly over. His assigned seat was in the Tail Gunner's position. As you can see from the photo below, there was very little room in that cramped position and normally the smallest member of the gunner crew got stuck into it. I can recall his telling me how hard it was for him to get himself folded into the space and his knees were nearly up to his ears as it was so tight and cramped. But he was determined to be a part of that historic event.
They took off from the MCAS Quantico and, of course, in true military fashion, our Marine practice had to be early rather than late, and they ended up flying in huge circles over Virginia below DC. As the planes were finally given the order to join the parade flying continuously above the marching troops, rolling vehicles, other artillery, tanks, armor, amphibious and other military equipment on the ground, the plane he had hitched a ride on either (I forget exactly) had engine problem or literally ran out of gas (I think it was the latter) and had to make an emergency landing in a farmer's field, which they did safely.
Until he told me that story, I did not know that the Navy or the Marines had any B-25's in their inventory back then. I had once been in a B-25 brought around with out wings, on a semi truck after the war while still a young boy. I remembered sitting the the nose seat, pilot's, and vividly recall sitting in the tail gunner's seat and at 6 years old (and very large for my age) it was comfortable for me. So it really blew my mind recalling that experience when "Big Jim" told this story. He really had to have wanted to be in that flight to have endured the several hours in that cramped space and I was further amazed at how he could have possibly folded his body up sufficient to sit where I had sat while a kid! But MGySgt Donovan was a fairly amazing Marine and on rare occasions you could get him to tell a story.
Submitted by 8th & I Marine David "DB" Wright, Drum & Bugle Corps and U.S. Marine Band, 1965-1974 / USMC 1959-1974, Vietnam veteran, Las Vegas, NV
12-20-16 ... BEARSKIN OF THE DRUM MAJOR, MARINE BAND, CA. 1970
Take a close look at the Bearskin being worn by the Drum Major of the US Marine Band, “The President's Own” around 1970. It had a beautiful heavy wide chain of brass loops falling down from an anchor point above the front metal pate terminating at a large regulation Dress Blouse Brass Botton (Full sized button) on each side. Front and Center on the front the large metal “Plate” you see was the coat of arms of THE US MARINE BAND,”THE PRESIDENT'S OWN” IN BRASS AND SIVER and beneath it was a large brass laurel wreath. It was truly unique and several times I heard the Drum Majors of the Army and Navy Bands discussing attempting to put similar devices on their Bear Skin Covers but had been shot down because it would be “imitating” the Marine Band.
Then it sort of disappeared after a long period of complaining about having to remove and shine all this from the Bearskin. The Supply Sergeant offered several times to have it all anodized so it would not have to be shined but it seemed that particular Drum Major wanted to look more like the Brigade of Guards looked and not with the stuff he was forced to wear. I'd be surprised if anyone can even find it any more but I would love to see it returned to its former place of glory, prestige and pride as it was truly unique only to that Band!
Somebody please put this into the proper hands of someone who appreciate this missing piece of history who might be able to restore it to its rightful place again!
Submitted by 8th & I Marine David "DB" Wright, Drum & Bugle Corps and Band, 1965-74 / USMC 1959-74, Vietnam veteran, Las Vegas, NV
U.S. Marine Bank on the steps of the Capitol Building. July 1958; Director: Lt Col Albert Schoepper, Asst Dir's: Capt. James B. King Jr. and Capt Dale Harpham.
Marine Corps Band pass in review before President John F. Kennedy during the Inaugural, Jan 20, 1961
Submitted by Tom Lewis
1961, 8TH & I YEARBOOK
Submitted by John Reim, Ceremonial Guard Company, Silent Drill Platoon, 1958-1961, Franklinville, NJ
Early-1960's ... Antony "Tony" Matarrese, Pianist, U.S. Marine Band,1954-1973,
Playing For John F. Kennedy, Jr., At The White House. Note: Antony Matarrese Passed Away On 10-9-17.
Submitted by Eliot "Ike" Evans, 8th & I, U.S. Marine Band, 1970-1998, Dumfries, VA
1988 Parade Program
Arthur S. Witcomb, solo cornet and Assistant Leader of the Marine Band (from 1905 to 1935). Publicity photo at the WH, July 1924. Calvin Coolidge's son died and Witcomb played Taps in VT at the burial. (Born in Birmingham, England in 1879-- died June 18, 1950 in DC). Witcomb was cornetist in the Coldstream Guards before coming to the US.
This was on display at the Globe & Laurel restaurant in Stafford, just South of Quantico, VA:
Photo of Mr. Sousa's original sketch for Semper Fidelis
2-28-24 ... 8TH & I MARINE DAVID "DB" WRIGHT'S MEMORIES OF MGYSGT STUART HANNAH, NCOIC OF THE U.S. MARINE BAND'S, "THE PRESIDENT'S OWN," INSTRUMENT REPAIR SHOP AND HIS WWll M1 GARAND RIFLE
I believe it was around 1973 that Master Gunnery Sergeant Stuart Hannah who was the NCOIC of the US Marine Band, “The President's Own,” instrument repair shop. The shop and the repair school they ran training Marines how to repair all musical instruments. His Assistant was Master Sergeant Charlie Brown who owned his own musical instrument repair business located in a hanger on Clinton's Air Field. Charlie was also a Pilot and has his federal ticket as an instructor pilot which he ran in his off duty time serving most of the school bands and bandmaster/teachers in the Metro DC area including Maryland and Virginia. To say these two senior staff ncos were at the top of the respective MOS would be a vast understatement!
Stuart had joined the Marines out of high school during WWII and saw action in the South Pacific. At some point in his career he gravitated to a Division Band and started tinkering around fixing problems other Marines were having with their instruments. He got a job off base in the civilian community helping out in a musical instrument repair shop and and was on his way to becoming one of the foremost known and respected repairmen in that field.
I'm not sure how exactly Stuart made his way to the Marine Band at the Barracks in DC but he did not long after the war and was a performer who worked on repairing instruments when not rehearsing or performing. He found the attic above the John Philip Sousa Band Hall of the south wing of the Barracks was spacious and built a room for his work shop which was expanded several times through the coming years. He personally purchased several polishing electric motors which stood on pedestals to restore the shine to brass instruments and then added a paint booth properly power vented to the outside so he could spray lacquer finishes on the freshly repaired, or reconditioned and restored to like new condition that were made of brass. He made jigs for woodwind instruments parts that he designed himself. There we drill holes laid out down the board in the same manner as they would be mounted on a specific instrument. So this meant he had to have a different jig for each different woodwind instrument or different by size. As they would have a number of instruments disassembled and their pieces attached to their jigs this also required multiple jigs for each type of woodwind and size.
Eventually LtCol Schoepper the Director of the Band then recognized all the money that Stuart, or Stu as he was called by all, was saving the Band itself and even the Bandsmen who had personal instruments worth considerable money and some very, very old. So instead of a sort of “off the books repair shop” it and they became the official Instrument Repair Shop of the Marine Band itself with Stuart its NCOIC and Charlie Brown his assistant.
Sergeant Tony Aloi was sent from the Drum and Bugle Corps to the Band to study and learn how to repair musical instruments. Tony became a Marine Bandsman as a percussionist . When I first met Tony he was a Gunnery Sergeant Bandsmen working for Stu and Charlie and becoming a first rate repairman himself. Another member of the D&B who was sent as a student to Stu and Charlie was “Hook” Masicak (Spelling is off) and when I arrived at the D&B in 65 he was the Instrument Repair Man and Supply Sgt of the unit as well as performing on cymbals. A formal Marine Musical Instrument Repair School was developed with less plans and the curriculum formally approved and adopted even with a new MOS added to the Music Field.
I had a coffee cup with a unique Eagle, Globe, and Anchor surrounded 360 degrees with a wreath with “United States” engraved on the top of the encircling wreath and Marine Corps on the bottom. I accidentally dropped and broke the cup which was unique as I'd never seen another one like it. I was bemoaning the loss and wondering how I could use the saved pewter crest chatting with Stu one day after I had been assigned to the Band for over a year. Stu suggested why not make a pen set for my desk which was way out of my wheel house but I liked the idea. A few days later Stu stopped in and showed me a teak piece of scrap wood he had found in the Barracks Carpentry shop. He routed the edges to give it formal character, and planed the surfaces smooth. Next he decided one of the 2 inch brass round cases for the Barracks twin saluting guns mounted on each side of the flag pole on the south end of the parade deck from which the parade reviewing officer's personal flag or pendent was rolled and wrapped with the halyard in such a way it could be run up to the truck of the pole and when honors were rendered to that official a Marine just jerked that tied off halyard and the flag/pendent unfurled fully. The Saluting Battery in the mean time was firing the proper number of blank rounds which produced smoke and a loud bang, though quieted down by not using as much powder as normally would be used in response to neighbors complaints. Stu showed me the sad looking brass casing and said we mount to one side to hold pencils and pens or what ever. I found a loose desk set pen in a local post office and the post master gave it to me so I had a pen which I gave to Stu. Several days later he showed me the saluting round which he highly polished a band around the top to a mirror finish while the best was more of a semi shined, semi matt finish with a single line he had turned running evenly spaced around the outer circumference of the shell from that shiny band to the base. Stu had done this on a large metal working lath they in their shop, along with a machinist smaller metal lath and a wood working lath. Stu also showed me a receptacle to hold my desk pen which he copied from one of the brass tips on the shoulder ropes of the Director and Assistant Directors. He scaled it to the proper size with the shaft bored to receive the pen terminating on a round highly shined piece of bass stock like a coin but a 1/4” thick. I mad my first ever pen set and I still have it on my desk next to my computers today.
Just a little background so you get a feel for MGySgt Stuart Hannah. His completion of 30 years service was fast approaching when Stu came in early one morning and came back to where my office and desk was located carrying a rifle case. He sat it on my deck and opened it up and there was the most perfectly maintained M1 Garand Rifle with a stock that looked as if it was covered in shellac or lacquer. Instead it had been an oil we all used in boot camp to apply and then sit rubbing our hand up and down the stock, forearm and top wooden pieces on the rifle until we created heat from the friction of our palm sliding back and forth. That in turn opened up the pours of the wood and the oil seeped in and over a great deal of time built up that mirror like surface. Some guys did a quick way by using a steam iron to steam through towel the stock to open it up and then quickly apply the oil and run like mad, but no this rifle. This had been a labor of love. Then over a cup of coffee Stu told me his plan and the reaction he anticipated would occur. Stuart had also shown me a early 1940's USMC RIFLE ISSUE and RETRIEVABLE form. There were I believe, if I recall correctly, 3 dotted lines sections at the bottom of the small document. The last was cut off and maintained in official Marine weapon records and showed the issuing armorer's name, rank, location, and unit at the time of issuance of a weapon and the name, rank and service number, Unit and location as well as the same issue for the receiving Marine the weapon was being issued to. Once completed to the armorer's satisfaction he would cut off that strip for USMC Records and the rest of the issuing paper was given to the receiving Marine with instructions they were to hold onto that paper and turn it in when turning in the rifle to the Corps. A that time the receiving armorer would cut off the 2nd strip at the bottom and that would be the receipt for successfully turning in the weapon and kept by the Marine turning it in. The remaining part of the form was maintained in record files by the armorer until the weapon was written off Corps records.
I had heard tell of these issue slips and even signed one similar while at Parris Island upon issuance and return of my M1 Garand Rifle. Until some time after WWII or the Korean War the Corps quit issuing rifles that a Marine kept and took with them from bases to base throughout their service in the Corps until they turned it back in. When I joined the Corps in 59 the weapon was either locked up in a squad bay rifle rack where you were billeted or in an armory that you visited weekly, drew an cleaned the weapon and the armorer inspected it and you both signed a log book certifying you had cleaned it and it had been inspected and passed by the armor before returning to the armory.
When a new Lance Corporal stationed at Memphis Naval Schools I was summoned on a Friday to the Headquarters Company First Sergeant's Office. When I marched in reporting I noticed the armorer standing by the seated 1stSgt's side behind the desk. Top turned the book around and asked me to show him my signature for having cleaned my rifle and having it inspected by the armorer that week. The Armorer spoke up and advised I had in face drawn and cleaned my rifle and it passed with an outstanding mark but I had forgotten to sign the log book. The 1stSgt explained the regulation required a signature - not testimony and gave me my choice. I could accept Office Hours with the Company Commander who generally reduced by one rank those who failed to carry out this standing order. OR the 1stsSgt pulled open his top right desk drawer and said if I didn't want office hours I could remove my Liberty Card from the file box and drop it in his drawer for 2 weeks (in other words accept 2 weeks restricted to base). Of course I dropped my Liberty Card in Top's drawer and thankful to have been given that opportunity. That is how serious our rifle and weekly cleaning was in the Corps in the early 60's.
Top Hannah's issuance paper had 2 creases in it where he had folded it and carrier it in a plastic wrapping in his bill fold all those years and it didn't have a single wrinkle in it and was as white as the day of issuance, or in pristine condition. Then he divulged his plan to tweak the nose of the Corps Supply Section as his good bye to active service and commencing retirement. He was going to turn in that beautiful rifle, or attempt to do so the next day at the Barracks Armory.
The next day the Barracks Armorer a Sgt was astounded at the condition of this WWII Weapon which was like brand new. The Sgt had never seen an issuance return form like MGySgt Hannah was presenting to him. It was agreed Top Hannah would leave the weapon in the armory and be given a temporary custody ship reflecting that which had to be written out by hand. Next morning when the Armorer met with the MSgt who oversaw him from the S3 Office the crap hit the fan. Top Hannah was summoned to the armory and the M1 was returned to him and the hand written slip retrieved by the armorer. Top was told that the S3 MSgt was contacting HQMC Supply for guidance as they were unable to find any records in the Corps for the weapon in question. HQMC Supply quickly discovered the Corps had no record what so ever for this M1 Rifle. So a MGySgt from HQMC Supply came over and together with the S3 MSgt visited the SNCO Club where it was suggested vaguely that Stu just keep the weapon as it is not even known as existing. Stu told them he really couldn't do that as he had an issuance slip with instructions printed on its back side how to turn the weapon back into to the Corps upon separation under federal law and USMC Regulations. Thus began the dance!
Stu made a number of trips by request to meet with various supply senior NCOs and officers up to Colonel, all who encouraged him to forget the rifle existed and just take it home as a memento of his outstanding service to the Corps. None of those highly placed Officers and SNCOs made a dent on Stu's determination to turn in the weapon, even if he had to contact his congressman as he was merely obeying USMC Orders. It took HQMC Supply slightly over 3 months to figure out how to accept the rifle back into its inventory and then what to do with it. It was sent to the USMC Museum, then at the Navy Yard. Stu thoroughly enjoyed the whole goat screw up he caused, as did all who were not involved in “resolving the problem!” Even the LtGen in charge of all USMC Supply at HQMC became involved and in the end approved some forms that were designed and generated to make this all happen.
Semper Fi
Submitted by 8th & I Marine GySgt David "DB" Wright, Drum & Bugle Corps and Band, 1965-74 / USMC, 1959-74, Vietnam veteran, retired Maryland police officer, retired 1st Sgt, U.S. Army National Guard, Las Vegas, NV
The United States Marine Band is the premier band of the United States Marine Corps.
Established by act of Congress on July 11, 1798, it is the oldest of the United States military bands
and the oldest professional musical organization in the United States.
The President's Own - United States Marine Band
Some history of the Drum Major's Mace
When I first got to the Barracks and the Band's Drum Major was Hank Peter's, a really intimidating and impressive Marine SNCO and Drum Major, he used a mace that had a Silver Head on it that was sort of flat on the top of it. Hank Peters and Gene Belschner were to two most Drum Major appearing and acting Drum Major's I saw in all my life and especially during the Friday Night Parades when the Band was on one end of the parade deck while the D&B was on the other and they marched together and joined into one musical unit! Drum Major Danny Osher also carried that mace. Then while Drum Major Donovan was there Assistant Drum Major Jimerson was sent over to England to pick up a Bear Skin hat from Boosey & Hawkes. Their representative apparently kept him drunk right up until the time he put Jimerson on the plane to come and home and just before he walked through the departure point he handed Jimerson a brown paper bag and said here's the hat! When he got on the plane he examined it and it was a regimental dress hat, like our barracks cover, of one of the Guards Regiments. Needless to say when he got back to the Band it was difficult to explain his 10 days over there TAD and not getting the Bear Skin cover!
Then a new design for our mace was solicited from Boosey & Hawkes and the sent drawings over of the current mace which everybody loved. By now LtCol Harpham was Director and he arranged to send me over as his representative to approve and pick up the Mace. LtCol Harpham knew old Sir Jeffery Hawks very, very well personally and he called Sr. Jeffery and told him about the bear skin hat incident and that he was sending me over as his personal representative to approve and pick up the new mace and that I had his complete authority to reject it on the spot! LtCol Harpham decided to send along with me the buck sergeant who was our general handyman and gofer as a reward for all his great unsung work.
On the day after we arrived he and I in civilian clothes took the tube out to Middlesex where the Boosey & Hawkes factory was located. They made nearly all of the ceremonial equipage for the Brigade of Guards, the Royal House and the rest of the British Armed Forces. In WWII they had produced plane engines for bombers and fighters. We were immediately taken with great fawning to the Board of Director's Conference Room where the entire Board of Directors were present. We ate a nice light lunch after being introduced to everyone and the atmosphere was pretty strained. After lunch they had the mace brought in and it was unwrapped from it's cloth case and shown to me. I closely compared it to the drawing I had brought along to make sure all the wordings were correctly spelled in accordance with what had been approved and such. I was in utter awe of the workmanship that was apparent, especially on the head of the mace itself. It was beautiful! They all relaxed and became very friendly after I said that I would accept it but I told them I wanted a damage proof carrying case to transport it back to the Barracks and they were tickled pink to only have to do that. They arranged for Sir Jeffery's chauffeur, Ernie, to drive us back to our hotel on the Strand in his Rolls Royce limo.
He made arrangements to pick us up the next morning and drive us up to Windsor Castle for a special tour Sir Jeffery had arranged for us. We saw a lot of the castle that is not normally shown and it was awesome. On the way back he stopped in a small out of the way English village called Hurley on Thames. We had an early dinner there in the 2nd oldest Inn in England having been founded around 1325 AD something. It was supposed to be the 2nd oldest Inn in England. We had the best steak I have ever eaten anywhere in the world, and I have eaten Kobi steak in Japan and steak fixed on the King Ranch down in Texas. When we got back he dropped us off to see one of the British shows in a theatre and gave us tickets to another theatre the next night for a interesting show. Since we were there for 10 days TAD and the previous year I had met the new Director of the Royal Marine Band when he had visited us we decided to visit him. He had wanted to visit Gettysburg when he came over so I got a staff car and driver and took him up and gave him a really good tour of the Battle field as well as Antetium which wow'ed him. We took the train down to Deal on the souther coast to what was then the Royal Marine "Bootcamp" where he had a Sgt and SSgt meet us at the train. We had lunch with him and his wife at their house and then a tour of the Band watching them rehearse. That evening was a SNCO Evening at which the CO requested the privilege of the Sgt's Mess from the Regimental SgtMaj, which of course was granted. I wedged myself in between a pillar supporting the upper floor and the bar and drank gin tonic's all night long. I have always gotten sick on the smell of beer and simply can't get it down my throat!!!!! That night after everybody turned in I went into the head and gave up an offering to the God of Porcelain, took a handful of aspirin and went to bed setting my alarm for an hour before Reveille! I was fresh shaved and squared away and went as Reveille was being sounded knocking on the doors of my host Sgt and SSgt cheerfully wishing them a great morning and suggesting we hustle over to the mess to eat! I tormented them all day long, though it damned near killed me. I did get satisfaction of seeing them hustle to the coffee everyplace we went first thing and muttering something about those Damned American Marines!" Of course my buck sergeant was right with them.
The Adjutant was a Major who rode a horse all around the base with jodhpurs, spit shined riding boots complete with spurs and whip/crop. Our host took us the next day to see Canterbury and the Cathedral there as well as the old Dover Castle.
When we were ready to leave Ernie showed up with the mace in a custom made metal carrying "box" that was painted glistening black with white lettering on it "US Marine Band, The President's Own" and a carrying handle. It took some doing but I managed to talk the Chief Stewartress of the Pam Am 747 which we were flying on to allow it to be stored in the cabin instead of the hole. We were supposed to fly into Baltimore where we would go through customs where everything was arranged. But for some reason we were re-routed into the new Pam Am International facilities at JFK which was sort of new itself. They made us go through custom's there. I paid for what I had declared and then they demanded I pay fee's for the Mace! I tried to reason with the arrogant custom's guy at that spot while line was growing behind me. I explained it belonged to the US Government in the form of the Marine Band, "The President's Own" and that we were directly under the command of the President himself. He still demanded I pay for it. So I decided to go into my Gunny role and get pissed off and I told him he could jam the G-damned mace up his ass because I wasn't going to pay the government for what the government had just purchased and he could damn well be prepared to explain to the White House why he had seized the Mace of "The President's Own Band"! I started stomping off with him chasing me and people stopping and staring. this brought his supervisor who was just as bone headed so I got even madder and louder. Finally I attacked the attention of a Custom Officer who was a Major and I calmly explained it all to him. He made a call to BWI and they confirmed it all so I got to bring it with me on the continuing flight to BWI without having to pay for it.
I believe this is the same Mace that is still used today.
The Drum Major's bearskin cover used to have a beautiful large brass insignia of the Marine Band on it's front and a gold chain running from one side to the other connecting at gold uniform buttons. It really was impressive but Drum Major Donovan didn't like it and wouldn't shine it and finally talked Col Schoepper into allowing him to remove it since it looked so "dingy"!!!!!
I had early told you about getting Dennie over from the D&B to be Drum Major. I was wrong slightly in my relation of it to you. Col Schoepper was still the Director and the position was to be a replacement of Assistant Drum Major Jimerson who had been transferred back to the regular Marine Corps as a MSgt with a new date of rank starting upon that reassignment. Major Harpham was put in charge of finding the new replacement for Jimerson. The rest happened as I stated though.
Jimerson was a really good guy. You husband may have know him. He was married to an Islander named Pearl. He became a stone alcoholic. He couldn't function unless he had at least a pint of vodka in him and he drank 110 proof. Finally things had gotten so bad that Drum Major Donovan went to Col Schoepper and told him about it so it was decided he would be transferred back to the regular Corps which was actually what Jimerson wanted. Then Snellings got involved and arranged for him to go back at his old regular rank as GySgt with an entire new date of rank commencing upon his return. It was just plain wrong, but another attempt by Snellings to get back at the band for not making him an Assistant Director. So Jimerson decided to play the "race card" and rightly so in my humble opinion, and CMC's office got involved directly in the transfer. Jimerson went back a MSgt but lost his time in grade. Snellings was able to brag he had screwed Jimerson but the truth got out that he really had not gotten what he had wanted.
Submitted by 8th & I Marine David "DB" Wright, Drum & Bugle Corps and U.S. Marine Band, 1965-1974 / USMC 1959-1974, Vietnam veteran, Las Vegas, NV
12-13-16 ... DAVID "DB" WRIGHT'S MEMORIES OF MGySgt JAMES DONOVAN, DRUM MAJOR, U.S. MARINE BAND "THE PRESIDENT'S OWN"
The below photo of a B-25 (WWII era) reminded me of a great story once told to me by MGySgt James Donovan while he was Drum Major of the US Marine Band, "The President's Own!" While a SSgt & GySgt PIO of the US Marine Band, I worked around the Drum Major quite a bit and during a relaxed session one day he told the below story grinning all the time at recalling it.
At the great Victory Parade in Washington, DC at the end of WWll, all the branches of our Armed Forces, including the US Coast Guard (which fought as a part of the Navy), marched down Pennsylvania Avenue past the White House with a massive fly over of every kind of plane we used during that war.
Then a young Marine, Big Jim Donovan (he was 6-06 tall) managed to hitch a ride in a Marine PBJ in a USMC Squadron (USMC & USN designation of B-25) as part of the Marine fly over. His assigned seat was in the Tail Gunner's position. As you can see from the photo below, there was very little room in that cramped position and normally the smallest member of the gunner crew got stuck into it. I can recall his telling me how hard it was for him to get himself folded into the space and his knees were nearly up to his ears as it was so tight and cramped. But he was determined to be a part of that historic event.
They took off from the MCAS Quantico and, of course, in true military fashion, our Marine practice had to be early rather than late, and they ended up flying in huge circles over Virginia below DC. As the planes were finally given the order to join the parade flying continuously above the marching troops, rolling vehicles, other artillery, tanks, armor, amphibious and other military equipment on the ground, the plane he had hitched a ride on either (I forget exactly) had engine problem or literally ran out of gas (I think it was the latter) and had to make an emergency landing in a farmer's field, which they did safely.
Until he told me that story, I did not know that the Navy or the Marines had any B-25's in their inventory back then. I had once been in a B-25 brought around with out wings, on a semi truck after the war while still a young boy. I remembered sitting the the nose seat, pilot's, and vividly recall sitting in the tail gunner's seat and at 6 years old (and very large for my age) it was comfortable for me. So it really blew my mind recalling that experience when "Big Jim" told this story. He really had to have wanted to be in that flight to have endured the several hours in that cramped space and I was further amazed at how he could have possibly folded his body up sufficient to sit where I had sat while a kid! But MGySgt Donovan was a fairly amazing Marine and on rare occasions you could get him to tell a story.
Submitted by 8th & I Marine David "DB" Wright, Drum & Bugle Corps and U.S. Marine Band, 1965-1974 / USMC 1959-1974, Vietnam veteran, Las Vegas, NV
12-20-16 ... BEARSKIN OF THE DRUM MAJOR, MARINE BAND, CA. 1970
Take a close look at the Bearskin being worn by the Drum Major of the US Marine Band, “The President's Own” around 1970. It had a beautiful heavy wide chain of brass loops falling down from an anchor point above the front metal pate terminating at a large regulation Dress Blouse Brass Botton (Full sized button) on each side. Front and Center on the front the large metal “Plate” you see was the coat of arms of THE US MARINE BAND,”THE PRESIDENT'S OWN” IN BRASS AND SIVER and beneath it was a large brass laurel wreath. It was truly unique and several times I heard the Drum Majors of the Army and Navy Bands discussing attempting to put similar devices on their Bear Skin Covers but had been shot down because it would be “imitating” the Marine Band.
Then it sort of disappeared after a long period of complaining about having to remove and shine all this from the Bearskin. The Supply Sergeant offered several times to have it all anodized so it would not have to be shined but it seemed that particular Drum Major wanted to look more like the Brigade of Guards looked and not with the stuff he was forced to wear. I'd be surprised if anyone can even find it any more but I would love to see it returned to its former place of glory, prestige and pride as it was truly unique only to that Band!
Somebody please put this into the proper hands of someone who appreciate this missing piece of history who might be able to restore it to its rightful place again!
Submitted by 8th & I Marine David "DB" Wright, Drum & Bugle Corps and Band, 1965-74 / USMC 1959-74, Vietnam veteran, Las Vegas, NV
U.S. Marine Bank on the steps of the Capitol Building. July 1958; Director: Lt Col Albert Schoepper, Asst Dir's: Capt. James B. King Jr. and Capt Dale Harpham.
Marine Corps Band pass in review before President John F. Kennedy during the Inaugural, Jan 20, 1961
Submitted by Tom Lewis
1961, 8TH & I YEARBOOK
Submitted by John Reim, Ceremonial Guard Company, Silent Drill Platoon, 1958-1961, Franklinville, NJ
Early-1960's ... Antony "Tony" Matarrese, Pianist, U.S. Marine Band,1954-1973,
Playing For John F. Kennedy, Jr., At The White House. Note: Antony Matarrese Passed Away On 10-9-17.
Submitted by Eliot "Ike" Evans, 8th & I, U.S. Marine Band, 1970-1998, Dumfries, VA
1988 Parade Program
Arthur S. Witcomb, solo cornet and Assistant Leader of the Marine Band (from 1905 to 1935). Publicity photo at the WH, July 1924. Calvin Coolidge's son died and Witcomb played Taps in VT at the burial. (Born in Birmingham, England in 1879-- died June 18, 1950 in DC). Witcomb was cornetist in the Coldstream Guards before coming to the US.
This was on display at the Globe & Laurel restaurant in Stafford, just South of Quantico, VA:
Photo of Mr. Sousa's original sketch for Semper Fidelis
2-28-24 ... 8TH & I MARINE DAVID "DB" WRIGHT'S MEMORIES OF MGYSGT STUART HANNAH, NCOIC OF THE U.S. MARINE BAND'S, "THE PRESIDENT'S OWN," INSTRUMENT REPAIR SHOP AND HIS WWll M1 GARAND RIFLE
I believe it was around 1973 that Master Gunnery Sergeant Stuart Hannah who was the NCOIC of the US Marine Band, “The President's Own,” instrument repair shop. The shop and the repair school they ran training Marines how to repair all musical instruments. His Assistant was Master Sergeant Charlie Brown who owned his own musical instrument repair business located in a hanger on Clinton's Air Field. Charlie was also a Pilot and has his federal ticket as an instructor pilot which he ran in his off duty time serving most of the school bands and bandmaster/teachers in the Metro DC area including Maryland and Virginia. To say these two senior staff ncos were at the top of the respective MOS would be a vast understatement!
Stuart had joined the Marines out of high school during WWII and saw action in the South Pacific. At some point in his career he gravitated to a Division Band and started tinkering around fixing problems other Marines were having with their instruments. He got a job off base in the civilian community helping out in a musical instrument repair shop and and was on his way to becoming one of the foremost known and respected repairmen in that field.
I'm not sure how exactly Stuart made his way to the Marine Band at the Barracks in DC but he did not long after the war and was a performer who worked on repairing instruments when not rehearsing or performing. He found the attic above the John Philip Sousa Band Hall of the south wing of the Barracks was spacious and built a room for his work shop which was expanded several times through the coming years. He personally purchased several polishing electric motors which stood on pedestals to restore the shine to brass instruments and then added a paint booth properly power vented to the outside so he could spray lacquer finishes on the freshly repaired, or reconditioned and restored to like new condition that were made of brass. He made jigs for woodwind instruments parts that he designed himself. There we drill holes laid out down the board in the same manner as they would be mounted on a specific instrument. So this meant he had to have a different jig for each different woodwind instrument or different by size. As they would have a number of instruments disassembled and their pieces attached to their jigs this also required multiple jigs for each type of woodwind and size.
Eventually LtCol Schoepper the Director of the Band then recognized all the money that Stuart, or Stu as he was called by all, was saving the Band itself and even the Bandsmen who had personal instruments worth considerable money and some very, very old. So instead of a sort of “off the books repair shop” it and they became the official Instrument Repair Shop of the Marine Band itself with Stuart its NCOIC and Charlie Brown his assistant.
Sergeant Tony Aloi was sent from the Drum and Bugle Corps to the Band to study and learn how to repair musical instruments. Tony became a Marine Bandsman as a percussionist . When I first met Tony he was a Gunnery Sergeant Bandsmen working for Stu and Charlie and becoming a first rate repairman himself. Another member of the D&B who was sent as a student to Stu and Charlie was “Hook” Masicak (Spelling is off) and when I arrived at the D&B in 65 he was the Instrument Repair Man and Supply Sgt of the unit as well as performing on cymbals. A formal Marine Musical Instrument Repair School was developed with less plans and the curriculum formally approved and adopted even with a new MOS added to the Music Field.
I had a coffee cup with a unique Eagle, Globe, and Anchor surrounded 360 degrees with a wreath with “United States” engraved on the top of the encircling wreath and Marine Corps on the bottom. I accidentally dropped and broke the cup which was unique as I'd never seen another one like it. I was bemoaning the loss and wondering how I could use the saved pewter crest chatting with Stu one day after I had been assigned to the Band for over a year. Stu suggested why not make a pen set for my desk which was way out of my wheel house but I liked the idea. A few days later Stu stopped in and showed me a teak piece of scrap wood he had found in the Barracks Carpentry shop. He routed the edges to give it formal character, and planed the surfaces smooth. Next he decided one of the 2 inch brass round cases for the Barracks twin saluting guns mounted on each side of the flag pole on the south end of the parade deck from which the parade reviewing officer's personal flag or pendent was rolled and wrapped with the halyard in such a way it could be run up to the truck of the pole and when honors were rendered to that official a Marine just jerked that tied off halyard and the flag/pendent unfurled fully. The Saluting Battery in the mean time was firing the proper number of blank rounds which produced smoke and a loud bang, though quieted down by not using as much powder as normally would be used in response to neighbors complaints. Stu showed me the sad looking brass casing and said we mount to one side to hold pencils and pens or what ever. I found a loose desk set pen in a local post office and the post master gave it to me so I had a pen which I gave to Stu. Several days later he showed me the saluting round which he highly polished a band around the top to a mirror finish while the best was more of a semi shined, semi matt finish with a single line he had turned running evenly spaced around the outer circumference of the shell from that shiny band to the base. Stu had done this on a large metal working lath they in their shop, along with a machinist smaller metal lath and a wood working lath. Stu also showed me a receptacle to hold my desk pen which he copied from one of the brass tips on the shoulder ropes of the Director and Assistant Directors. He scaled it to the proper size with the shaft bored to receive the pen terminating on a round highly shined piece of bass stock like a coin but a 1/4” thick. I mad my first ever pen set and I still have it on my desk next to my computers today.
Just a little background so you get a feel for MGySgt Stuart Hannah. His completion of 30 years service was fast approaching when Stu came in early one morning and came back to where my office and desk was located carrying a rifle case. He sat it on my deck and opened it up and there was the most perfectly maintained M1 Garand Rifle with a stock that looked as if it was covered in shellac or lacquer. Instead it had been an oil we all used in boot camp to apply and then sit rubbing our hand up and down the stock, forearm and top wooden pieces on the rifle until we created heat from the friction of our palm sliding back and forth. That in turn opened up the pours of the wood and the oil seeped in and over a great deal of time built up that mirror like surface. Some guys did a quick way by using a steam iron to steam through towel the stock to open it up and then quickly apply the oil and run like mad, but no this rifle. This had been a labor of love. Then over a cup of coffee Stu told me his plan and the reaction he anticipated would occur. Stuart had also shown me a early 1940's USMC RIFLE ISSUE and RETRIEVABLE form. There were I believe, if I recall correctly, 3 dotted lines sections at the bottom of the small document. The last was cut off and maintained in official Marine weapon records and showed the issuing armorer's name, rank, location, and unit at the time of issuance of a weapon and the name, rank and service number, Unit and location as well as the same issue for the receiving Marine the weapon was being issued to. Once completed to the armorer's satisfaction he would cut off that strip for USMC Records and the rest of the issuing paper was given to the receiving Marine with instructions they were to hold onto that paper and turn it in when turning in the rifle to the Corps. A that time the receiving armorer would cut off the 2nd strip at the bottom and that would be the receipt for successfully turning in the weapon and kept by the Marine turning it in. The remaining part of the form was maintained in record files by the armorer until the weapon was written off Corps records.
I had heard tell of these issue slips and even signed one similar while at Parris Island upon issuance and return of my M1 Garand Rifle. Until some time after WWII or the Korean War the Corps quit issuing rifles that a Marine kept and took with them from bases to base throughout their service in the Corps until they turned it back in. When I joined the Corps in 59 the weapon was either locked up in a squad bay rifle rack where you were billeted or in an armory that you visited weekly, drew an cleaned the weapon and the armorer inspected it and you both signed a log book certifying you had cleaned it and it had been inspected and passed by the armor before returning to the armory.
When a new Lance Corporal stationed at Memphis Naval Schools I was summoned on a Friday to the Headquarters Company First Sergeant's Office. When I marched in reporting I noticed the armorer standing by the seated 1stSgt's side behind the desk. Top turned the book around and asked me to show him my signature for having cleaned my rifle and having it inspected by the armorer that week. The Armorer spoke up and advised I had in face drawn and cleaned my rifle and it passed with an outstanding mark but I had forgotten to sign the log book. The 1stSgt explained the regulation required a signature - not testimony and gave me my choice. I could accept Office Hours with the Company Commander who generally reduced by one rank those who failed to carry out this standing order. OR the 1stsSgt pulled open his top right desk drawer and said if I didn't want office hours I could remove my Liberty Card from the file box and drop it in his drawer for 2 weeks (in other words accept 2 weeks restricted to base). Of course I dropped my Liberty Card in Top's drawer and thankful to have been given that opportunity. That is how serious our rifle and weekly cleaning was in the Corps in the early 60's.
Top Hannah's issuance paper had 2 creases in it where he had folded it and carrier it in a plastic wrapping in his bill fold all those years and it didn't have a single wrinkle in it and was as white as the day of issuance, or in pristine condition. Then he divulged his plan to tweak the nose of the Corps Supply Section as his good bye to active service and commencing retirement. He was going to turn in that beautiful rifle, or attempt to do so the next day at the Barracks Armory.
The next day the Barracks Armorer a Sgt was astounded at the condition of this WWII Weapon which was like brand new. The Sgt had never seen an issuance return form like MGySgt Hannah was presenting to him. It was agreed Top Hannah would leave the weapon in the armory and be given a temporary custody ship reflecting that which had to be written out by hand. Next morning when the Armorer met with the MSgt who oversaw him from the S3 Office the crap hit the fan. Top Hannah was summoned to the armory and the M1 was returned to him and the hand written slip retrieved by the armorer. Top was told that the S3 MSgt was contacting HQMC Supply for guidance as they were unable to find any records in the Corps for the weapon in question. HQMC Supply quickly discovered the Corps had no record what so ever for this M1 Rifle. So a MGySgt from HQMC Supply came over and together with the S3 MSgt visited the SNCO Club where it was suggested vaguely that Stu just keep the weapon as it is not even known as existing. Stu told them he really couldn't do that as he had an issuance slip with instructions printed on its back side how to turn the weapon back into to the Corps upon separation under federal law and USMC Regulations. Thus began the dance!
Stu made a number of trips by request to meet with various supply senior NCOs and officers up to Colonel, all who encouraged him to forget the rifle existed and just take it home as a memento of his outstanding service to the Corps. None of those highly placed Officers and SNCOs made a dent on Stu's determination to turn in the weapon, even if he had to contact his congressman as he was merely obeying USMC Orders. It took HQMC Supply slightly over 3 months to figure out how to accept the rifle back into its inventory and then what to do with it. It was sent to the USMC Museum, then at the Navy Yard. Stu thoroughly enjoyed the whole goat screw up he caused, as did all who were not involved in “resolving the problem!” Even the LtGen in charge of all USMC Supply at HQMC became involved and in the end approved some forms that were designed and generated to make this all happen.
Semper Fi
Submitted by 8th & I Marine GySgt David "DB" Wright, Drum & Bugle Corps and Band, 1965-74 / USMC, 1959-74, Vietnam veteran, retired Maryland police officer, retired 1st Sgt, U.S. Army National Guard, Las Vegas, NV
Anyone having additional submissions for this page should send them
to: webmaster@8thandi.com
Contact us at: cgccontact@8thandI.com - 8th&I Reunion Association
Return to top of page
©Copyright - All Rights Reserved - December 2016
8th & I Reunion Association
Design and Layout
by BT Productions
by BT Productions