[Dixielandjazz] Military Instruments

[David Richoux]

I had bring my own civilian horns with me to play on my ship (during  
the Vietnam war) because I was not a rated musician. We had a pretty  
good rock/funk band 1971-72 on the USS San Jose - I played Trumpet  
and Bone but we needed to have a good tenor to fill out the horn  
section ;-) We only played after all the other work was done.

One of the best OKOM recordings I have is Pee Wee Erwin and his band  
playing for the Army troops waiting to go home from Fort Dix in 1953.  
"Land of Dixie" on Brunswick. You can really hear the audience  
reactions!

Dave Richoux

On Sep 24, 2007, at 2:18 PM, Lowell Busching wrote:
> snip
\
> Before he got discharged in 45, LeRoy was "held over" by popular  
> demand (of the Army) for another 6 months or so in Chicago to help  
> welcome the troops back home.  I know he had a trombone when he  
> came home, but whether it was the one he had used all those years  
> or one he had left home, I have no idea. I would like to think the  
> military might have let him keep his instrument after going through  
> all that!
>
> The military being what it is, this may not have been the case. Do  
> any of the other list mates have similar experiences or stories  
> from that era on what happened to all those instruments or if the  
> military demanded them back?  Not just military marching band  
> instruments, but the units like Glenn Miller's band. Military dance  
> bands etc.
>