Marine band pumps up local crowds on the island of Guam

scott gold <mwmgum@xxxxxxx> · Wed, 23 Jul 2003 09:11:52 +1000

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hafa adai, fellow harpers, from the sunny isle of guam.<br><br>
while generally known for it's hot weather, nice beaches,<br>
super-typhoons, earthquakes, and WWII stories, we do get<br>
the occasional mirage.&nbsp; in this case, the mirage was in<br>
the form of a headline in today's Pacific Daily News:<br><br>
<h1>&quot;Marine band pumps up local crowds&quot;</h1>thinking i had once
again drank too many mai-tais<br>
in anticipation of the green flash during happy hour,<br>
and i realizing in my pneumatic stupor this early a.m.,<br>
that there were more the blank spaces in my memory <br>
of the previous evening.<br><br>
&quot;uh-oh, where did i play last night and who got 
hurt?&quot;<br><br>
but, after reading the story, i learned it was <br>
thankfully only a mirage...... as i reset my clock <br>
for another time-zone, i will leave the rest<br>
of the story for you below, and a fanciful image of <br>
a real US Marine Band Marine Band Band.&nbsp; ready, march!<br><br>
all the best from the inter-tropical convergence zone,<br><br>
- -sg<br><br>
<h1>Marine band pumps up local crowds</h1>Wednesday, July 23,
2003<br><br>
<h3>Musicians set to leave island tomorrow</h3>By
<a href="mailto:tmerto@xxxxxxxxxxx";><u>Theresa Merto<br>
</a></u>Pacific Daily News <br>
<br>
Fifty-nine years after the U.S. Marines stormed the island's shores and
helped liberate Guam, a group of Marines have taken the island by storm
again. <br><br>
Forty members of the III Marine Expeditionary Force Band arrived here
Sunday to take part in the island's Liberation Day festivities, according
to local Navy spokeswoman Lt. Thurraya Kent. They marched in Monday's
parade, gave a free concert in the Micronesia Mall yesterday and will
perform today during a change-of-command ceremony on the USS Frank Cable.
They are scheduled to leave the island tomorrow, Kent said. <br><br>
&quot;The main purpose for them to come to Guam was to support the
Liberation Day activities, mainly the Liberation Day parade,&quot; Kent
said. &quot;Of course, there is a tie with the island and the military,
particularly with the Marines.&quot; <br><br>
The band plays a variety of music, ranging from military marches and big
band music to contemporary jazz favorites, Kent said, adding that
military bands have taken part in recent Liberation Day parades. The band
is currently stationed at Camp Foster in Okinawa, Japan. <br><br>
&quot;They are not the only Marine band. They are the only Marine band
with the distinction of being an expeditionary force band, and what that
means is that they are not only musicians, but they are also those ready
to serve in combat,&quot; Kent said. <br><br>
<br><br>
<h4><b>ABOUT THE BAND</b></h4><font face="arial" size=2>The III Marine
Expeditionary Force Band bears the distinction of being the only
Expeditionary Force Band in the Marine Corps. The band is stationed at
Camp Foster in Okinawa, Japan. Forty members from the band arrived on
Guam Sunday to take part in Liberation Day festivities. They are
scheduled to leave the island tomorrow. <br>
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