Members of the 113th Army Band entertained hundreds late Tuesday afternoon during the "In Remembrance of 9/11" ceremony at Glover Pavilion in Central Park, Warsaw.
Tunes ranged in style and era from the patriotic, jazz, Dixieland and swing to Big Band. There were flutes, clarinets, a bass clarinet, a bassoon, alto saxes, tenor sax, trumpets, French horns, trombones, euphonium, tuba, guitar, percussions and a keyboard.
Home states of the soldiers in the band included Georgia, New York, Florida, Arizona, California, Texas, New Hampshire and two from Indiana, Burlington and Valparaiso.
"The Dragoons," as the 113th Army Band is known, started its one-hour performance with "Army Strong" by Mark Isham. They also performed "The Klaxon," "Yankee Doodle Fife and Drums," "Fantasy on Yankee Doodle," "Swing Band Medley" and "Jack the Knife" among others. Capt. Lydia Welch lent her crowd-pleasing voice to "Jack the Knife," as well as other songs during the ceremony Tuesday.
Commander of the Fort Knox, Ky., 113th Army Band is WO1 Jeremiah M. Keillor, of Los Fresnos, Texas. Enlisted bandleader is 1st Sgt. Paul Skrbin, Colonial Heights, Va. Keillor also emceed the band's performance.
After the 113th Army Band's performance, the Sept. 11 ceremony started and lasted an additional hour.
Pastor John Lowe, representing the Greater Warsaw Ministerial Association, provided an invocation. The colors were posted and the national anthem played.
Rep. Dave Wolkins, representing Warsaw Mayor Ernie Wiggins, thanked the audience for their attendance.
"Our community has shown that we do support activities, we do support our military," Wolkins said.
Ed Rock then sang Alan Jackson's song "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)?"
Representatives of local law enforcement, fire departments and military each spoke briefly about how the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, affected them.
"One thing for sure, we can't say it won't happen here because it did already," Kosciusko County Sheriff Rocky Goshert said. And it will again.
He encouraged the audience to be law enforcement's eyes and ears to help prevent catastrophes from happening.
Rick Glass, Winona Lake Fire Department, said, "There's none among us who doesn't know exactly where they were when it happened on that fateful morning."
In all, 3,044 men, women and children died that day. Of those, Glass said 343 were members of the New York Fire Department. "Of those, 60 of them were off duty," he said. "Wherever help is needed, firemen are there. They always show up, they always help."
Representing the military, 1st Sgt. Neil Gastin spoke about being proud to be a member of the National Guard and the sacrifices of the National Guard.
After a performance of "God Bless America," the 113th Army Band then performed a medley of the songs of the various branches of the armed services and "This is Our Country."
Ken Locke, Salvation Army director, spoke about the Sept. 11 flag that is flown in Kosciusko County only once a year, on Sept. 11. He reminded the audience that Americans need to be vigilant and that four airplanes crashed on Sept. 11, and were used as weapons. During a moment of silence, a bell was rang four times to remember the planes and all who died six years ago.
"Taps" was played, and "America the Beautiful" concluded the ceremony. During the song, all the emergency vehicles in the parking lot flashed their lights.
The 113th Army Band has the distinction of being the second oldest Army band presently on active duty. Formed on July 8, 1840, the band participated in President Lincoln's second inaugural parade. On July 15, 1940, the band was reorganized, then disbanded in 1943. On March 21, 1956, the band was reactivated and redesignated the 113th Army Band. In 1970, it consolidated with the 158th Army Band.
