U.S. Coast Guard Pipe Band.
Posted on 08/21/2005 8:31:16 AM PDT by sionnsar
FAIRVIEW PARK, Ohio - George Roudebush, a World War II Battle of the Bulge veteran, feels the heart strings tugging when a bagpipe plays at a military funeral, and he's done his part to recruit the next generation of pipers.
Roudebush, 80, of Chardon, a bagpiper for 32 years, has convinced his 12-year-old grandson to take up the pipes.
A bagpipe at a military funeral "fits so nicely with taps," Roudebush said while taking a break from his Red Hackle Pipes and Drums band practice in a veterans hall in suburban Cleveland. "The pipes have a place for us in memorial functions."
Military funerals for U.S. casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq - particularly the recent two-week series of services for Marines from an Ohio-based battalion - have highlighted the role of bagpipes and a unique sound that, for many, invokes just the right solemn tone.
The last of the scheduled funerals of the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines killed in two attacks in early August was held Saturday in suburban Cincinnati for Marine Sgt. David Kreuter, 26, who was posthumously promoted from corporal.
Don Barner, 54, a Marine Corps veteran of Vietnam and assistant Lake County prosecutor, took up the pipes in 1989 after hearing them at a police officer's funeral and gets inspired when he occasionally plays at military funerals.
"I look at it as an honor to give tribute to guys I served alongside," Barner said as fellow band members practiced fan favorites including the "Marine Corps Hymn" and "Amazing Grace."
Donald B. Willis, 60, of Lyndhurst, an undertaker and 20-year bagpiper, said the unique sound makes the bagpipes fit into a teary-eyed funeral for a fallen service member.
"It's just marvelous sounds that bring out the emotion and it's a very respective sound," said Willis, who is about to publish a sequel to a first novel with a bagpipe theme.
"If you're happy, it will bring it out. If you're sad, it will bring out tears," he said.
Recruiting new pipers like Roudebush's grandson can involve family connections, sometimes without regard to military tradition or lump-in-the-throat funeral duty. Other factors include a fascination with the sound and an interest in trying something different.
"I thought it would be nice to try," said Kirby Weldon, 16, of Litchfield, who took up the bagpipes two years ago based on his mother's love for the pipes and a friend's involvement.
The Red Hackle band directed by Scottish-born Sandy Hain, 76, has fared well attracting newcomers. It's a mix of about 50 members including young, middle-aged and old.
Band member Nate Wiles, 14, of North Olmsted, said his family's Scottish-American roots and a cousin who plays nurtured his interest in the pipes.
Wiles said his involvement in school cross-country, track and wrestling teams helps his stamina for an instrument that requires a lot of lung power.
"You have to blow a lot of air into the bag. It keeps going out," he said.
And what do his North Olmsted High School classmates make of the bagpipes? "It's popular with the ladies," Wiles said.
Stephen Holter, 39, of Youngstown, played the pipes at the Corpus Christi, Texas, funeral of a nephew, Marine Cpl. Paul C. Holter III, 21, who died Jan. 14 in a non-combat incident at Camp Ramadi, Iraq.
"There is head-turning (attention) just because people don't see it very often," said Holter, who has gently encouraged his 3-year-old son's interest in bagpipes.
"He likes bagpipe music. He'll actually ask for it - CDs - in the car," Holter said. "I don't want to push him into it, but I want to provide him with the opportunity if he wants."
ON THE NET
Red Hackle band: http://www.redhacklepipeband.com
Eastern U.S. Pipe Band Association: http://www.euspba.org
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It's just that Jack lets girls play--of course my daughter says that that is why they won! LOL!
Now I'd also like to point out another group which meant so much to the beginning of our wonderful country: the Dutch in New Amsterdam....Their practical, business-oriented, self-government ways were quite significant to our nation's culture.
Would you be interested in those names in my family tree;^))) Quite a mouth full, most of them!! LOL
Sure. The wife speaks Vlaams, which is almost Dutch... *\;-)
You're on the list now.
You can't compare Mike and Jack Lee.
Do you know who Jack Lee is???? Mike and Jack are both awesome!
Highland Piping) teaches the pipes at St. Thomas Episcopal School in Houston, Texas. In 1985,1995 & 1998 under his directorship, the band won the Juvenile World Pipe Band Championship in Scotland. As a soloist he was the first American to win the Dunvegan Medal at Skye (1983) and the Gold Medal at Oban (1984 & 89). In 1987, he won the Gold Medal & the Strathspey and Reel Competition at Inverness and the MSR at the Glenfiddich Invitational. After more than a decade of outstanding successes competing in Scotland, in 1997, Mike captured the Big Three by winning the Senior Piobaireachd Competition at Oban, the Clasp at Inverness, and the Bratach Gorm in London.
Found this online.. Maybe dated though...
Pipe Sgt. Jack Lee
Jack Lee is ranked among the world's most accomplished pipers, having won the Gold Medal, Clasp, and Silver Star (twice) at Inverness, and the Gold Medal and Senior Piobaireachd at Oban, as well as the Bratach Gorm in London, and the Piobaireachd event at the Glenfiddich Championship in Scotland. In 2002, Jack won the coveted Dunvegan Medal in Portree. In October 2001, Jack Lee made a CD as part of Lismore's "World's Greatest Pipers" CD series.
In the mid-70s, he pipe-majored the Canadian Pacific Airlines Pipe Band to the Cowal, European, and Canadian Open Championships in Grade II. A highly successful and sought-after teacher as well, Jack has two students who have won the Gold and Silver Medals. On September 10, 1999 P/M Terry Lee and P/S Jack Lee were each presented with the Meritorious Service Medal by Governor General Romeo LeBlanc in Quebec City, Quebec.
If nothing else, we are keeping this thread alive and bringing to the front two of the best pipers in the world. We could go on to Alasdair Gillies--named the greatest piper of the 20th century.
Absolutely
ARa
which US band got beat... Mike's won lots... usually when ever they go over...
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