The U.S. Army Ground Forces Band walks the walk.
In the Battle of Monterrey in 1846, the band, known then as the 4th Infantry Regiment Band, captured an artillery battery and turned it against the enemy, proving that these are some dangerous musicians. Its heroism made it the only military band to receive a combat distinction from a president.
Stationed in Atlanta’s Fort McPherson since 1973, the band has played thousands of concerts in the metro area and its buglers have offered the gentle benediction of taps at countless military funerals across Georgia. Its performers are well-known at Braves, Falcons and Hawks games and at Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations.
But Fort Mac is closing its gates this year and the band will be moving to Fort Bragg, N.C. Its last appearance as an Atlanta fixture will be today at McEachern High School, during a concert that will also feature some 50 band alumni, traveling from as far away as Montana for the occasion.
“It saddens me,” said the band’s commander, Maj. Treg Ancelet, “but it doesn’t mean we won’t see Atlanta again. The band will only be a few hours away.”
On Thursday, the band staged a short parade around the grounds of Fort McPherson, leading a hardy contingent of pre-school youngsters, many of them the offspring of Fort Mac personnel.
Crowds observing the parade were small; almost a quarter of the base has already been relocated. Looking sharp in combat dress and black berets, the band marched past Hedekin Field, a broad greensward, formerly polo grounds, shaded by live oaks and faced by the historic officers quarters that make up Staff Row.
Afterward, an enlarged band, with the addition of bassoon, marimba and other non-marching elements, practiced Haydn’s trumpet concerto and a medley of Leroy Anderson compositions.
Sgt. Robert Slade, a trombonist who lives in Flowery Branch, said the Atlanta location and its vibrant music community, was a boon for many Army Ground Forces musicians who sought freelance work during off hours. Slade has moonlighted at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
North Carolina, he said, won’t be quite the same.
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