I play in a Big Band which covers Glenn Miller, and other music from the 30's and 40's along with some later stuff from Frank Sinatra.
Our crowd is usually older, with WWII vets and their families especially connected.
I play lead trumpet. Playing trumpet next to me is Rick, a gentleman in his late 60's. John also plays trumpet in our group, 2 chairs away from Rick.
Last summer, we played a birthday celebration at a country club, celebrating the 93rd birthday for Rick's dad - a WWII vet. He was a tank driver in Northern France, who entered the war in the last few months. This 93 year old man is sharp as a tack, with a twinkle in his eye and a joke always at the ready. He is a pleasure to meet and talk with. He's one of our biggest fans.
During the celebration he steps up to the mike and shares some highlights of his war experience.
He saw and heard Glenn Miller in person as a surprise treat for the troops before they shipped out. They told the guys to report for a VD movie viewing. Instead, the curtains opened and there was the Glenn Miller band. The troops went absolutely crazy. They couldn't believe what they were seeing.
This may not seem to be a big deal to many of you, but that was the hottest music group going at the time. Big Band music was huge. It was the backdrop of life, especially romance and dances.
Another impressive story is that he crawled out of 3 burning tanks after they were hit in battle.
But most stunning was that he drove his tank over a POW camp gate in Northern France, liberating the captives, mostly American GI's.
In the middle of the story, John spontaneously spoke out from the band pit, asking him to clarify the name of the prison camp. He wasn't sure he heard it right.
Once clarified, John states that his grandfather (now deceased) spent 9 months in that camp as a POW and was liberated near the end of the war by the Army.
On another continent, 70 some years ago, a connection between those 2 men came to light between their son and grandson. These 2 guys have been together, playing music in our group for almost 10 years, unaware of the connection. It was a very cool event to witness.
BTW, You should see this 93 year old and his wife swing dance. They've still got it.
