06/05/2019
35 years ago our own Damascus High School band was in England & France participating in the 40th anniversary of D-Day celebrations for the second time.
Damascus Band Prepares for D-Day
By Carlos Moncada April 12, 1984
The marching band of Damascus High School, which drew attention when it participated in President Jimmy Carter's inaugural celebration and other festivities here and around the country, has been invited for the second time to be part of ceremonies in Paris marking the anniversary of D-day.
Defraying the students' expenses for the June trip has become a hometown cause in Damascus, a largely rural community of 5,000 in northern Montgomery County. A local parents' group called the Band Boosters has held auctions, luncheons, dances and other fund-raising activities for the past three months. Local businesses have donated wares and services. And area radio stations have plugged the 170-member band's trip.
President Reagan and several other heads of state, including Queen Elizabeth and French President Francois Mitterrand, are expected to attend the 40th anniversary ceremony. The June 6, 1944, assault by Allied forces against the Germans in northern France marked the beginning of the end of the war in Europe.
Band director Matt Kuhn said the organizers had became aware of the Damascus band because of its participation in national events.
In 1979, when the group was first invited to participate, the students were allowed to perform under the Arc de Triomphe, an honor usually reserved for military bands, he said. This year, the Damascus group will again perform there, as well as in northern France.
The band will return home June 9, just in time to play at the Damascus High School graduation the next day.
For some of the band members the European ceremonies will have personal meaning.
The grandfather of Blane Johnson, 17, died on Normandy Beach on July 4, 1944, at the age of 25. The grandfather of drum major Ken Griggs, 16, died during the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes Forest.
" . . . Being able to represent this country, plus being only the second nonmilitary band to play under the Arc de Triomphe, is what I'm excited about," Griggs said.
The trip also is special for Kuhn, who led the band on its first visit to Europe. He has been director at Damascus for 26 years.
"I'm looking forward so much to doing some of those things again," he said. "When you're standing there, performing and directing, with the kids playing in front of all these veterans, the emotion is so great . . . it's overwhelming."
The road to Normandy has had some interesting stops along the way. In addition to the Carter inauguration, the green- and white-uniformed Damascus bands have performed in St. Patrick's Day and Cherry Blossom parades, and at professional soccer games, Disney World, Miss America pageants and, most recently, the dedication of the Montgomery County Council office building, now named for former council member Stella B. Werner.
Kuhn said the band's activity over the years was the reason the D-day memorial organizers--largely residents of Bournemouth, a resort city in southern England that helped prepare for the invasion--picked Damascus over 26 other high school and college bands that had gained notice because of public appearances.
This year, Kuhn said, because the band "did such a great job, they asked no one else. We were the one. While other bands may outplay us or outmarch us, we can handle our own no matter where we go."
The band will perform "Taps" and the national anthems of the U.S., Britain and France. Like a drill sergeant hammering away at his troops, Kuhn is also giving the group intense briefings on the background and scope of the 1944 invasion.
"Every day it's like an indoctrination," Kuhn said. "In band class you have to take about five minutes and say, 'Do you know what you're getting into? Why the invasion? What things took place? Why are you going to be playing before major functions in Bournemouth and Southampton, England, and Cherbourg, France?' "
"A lot of our men helped out in France to get to Germany," said Brian Pick, 14, an honor guard. "This is kind of an anniversary to all the men that died . . . . "
Yet behind all the glitter and pomp of the 40th anniversary lies a hard reality: money.
Parents and school officials estimate that it will cost $180,000--about $1,100 per student--to send the band members on their 12-day trip to Europe. Parents and other area residents accompanying the band will be paying their own way.
The Band Boosters have raised about $17,000, which will be divided equally among the band members, said Sandy Day, a parent who is coordinating publicity for the band. Some students have come up with about $20,000 selling candy, spices and other items, while others are raising their share through part-time jobs, she said.
"The parents have agreed that the Band Boosters will raise what it can, and in the end, the parents will pay the difference," Day said. "It takes the pressure off the community. Last time, we practically had to beat on the doors to raise the money."
