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Organized in 1946 under the command of Chief Warrant Officer Chester E. Whiting, the U S Army Field Band was originally designated the Army Ground Forces Band - to provide a presence in the nation's capital that honored the "ground" soldier in the same manner that the US Army Air Forces Band honored those serving in the Army Air Corps. In 1950, when the U S Army Ground Forces were redesignated as the US Army Field Forces, the band changed to the name that it continues to use to this day - the US Army Field Band.

This website has been created to serve as a meeting place for those who have served in the US Army Field Band - and a place where others can come to find out about the history of the band.

Related to a Field Band member? Children, spouses and others who are related to former Field Band members are invited to join this website. You will have full access to all material that is posted here plus receive occasional updates. Send your request to Mike Culbertson.

We hope you enjoy the material and information that is here. If you are a former member of the band please take a few minutes to register/include your information on this website. And, of course, stop back often to see what's been recently added to the website of the Retiree and Alumni Association of the U S Army Field Band.

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE INFORMATION/ANNOUNCEMENTS

ANNOUNCEMENTS

•	On 20 February I attended the Field Band change of command ceremony at Fort Meade. COL Jim Keene will retire this Spring, and LTC Domingos Robinson, who had been the Deputy Commander for six and a half years, assumed command of the unit. Major General Trevor Bredenkamp, Commanding General of the Military District of Washington and Joint Force Headquarters National Capital Region, was the presiding officer for both the change of command and COL Keene’s retirement ceremony. COL Keene received the Distinguished Service Medal in recognition of his more than thirty years of active duty, which included more than nine years in command of the Field Band. He led the unit through the very challenging period of the COVID pandemic, keeping the community relations mission alive by using online programming. Major Richard Winkels has been transferred to the Field Band to serve as Deputy Commander and Officer in Charge of the Concert Band. He had been assigned to Headquarters Department of the Army as the liaison between the Chief of Public Affairs and the Chief of Army Bands. About two dozen TUSAFB alumni attended the ceremonies, including past Commander COL(R) Tim Holtan, Class of 2014; COL Bruce Pulver, Class of 2012; LTC(R) Dwayne Milburn, Class of 2015; CPT(P) Alexandra Borza, Class of 2017; CPT(R) Rick Barnes, Class of 1986; and SGM(R) Lane Wood, Class of 2002, sixth Band SGM. Congratulations to COL Keene for a job well done. We wish LTC Robinson success in his new position. Mike Culbertson, Class of 2009
•	SGM (Ret) Allan Grossberg (16 SEP 1945 - 4 FEB 2024) Additional information about arrangements will be provided when available. Condolences may be sent to his wife Donna and family at their home: 8260 WB&A Road Severn, MD 21144 A Graveside Service with Military Honors for SGM (Ret) Allan S. Grossberg will be held this Thursday - February 8, 2024. Burial will take place at the Maryland Veterans Cemetery at Crownsville, MD (1122 Sunrise Beach Rd., Crownsville, MD 21032) at 11:30 am. A Celebration of Life will follow at Pherm Brewing (1041 MD-3, Gambrills, MD 21052) at 12:30 pm. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. --------------------------------
•	NEW PUBLICATION When I was getting ready to retire from the Army, I decided to make a list of all the Soldiers who served in The AGF Band between 1946 and 1950. Mission creep has transformed that list into a book documenting the service of everyone who served or is serving in the band between 21 March 1946 to 1 September 2022. I've also added some information about the unit lineage, and biographical information on many. The newest edition is titled Kings of the Highway 2022. There are two versions, a paperback book of 338 pages and an eBook. The hard copy/paperback book will appeal to readers, such as I, who prefer turning pages to scrolling. Lulu told me that I have to put a minimum price of $35.38 on it, which is why the book costs $35.50. The eBook costs $2.50 and has the benefit of being searchable. Anyone interested in purchasing either version can go to LULU.COM/SHOP and search for Army Field Band. Both versions should then appear, and you can choose the one you want. https://www.lulu.com/search?page=1&q=army+field+band&pageSize=10&adult_audience_rating=00 Please contact me if there is any glitch in purchasing. I can be reached via email at mikeculb@aol.com, or 443-848-1220. I hope you like this new U S Army Field Band book. ENJOY! *Mike*
•	Hello, all, Mike CUlbertson here. I need some help in the search for Bill Rabinowitz, who played clarinet in the Concert Band from 1964-66. Pete Cortese, who played in the section with Bill, gave me some good leads, and the release of the 1950 Federal Census gave me some more data to work with. It was time to visit Ancestry.com 1. In 1950, 8-year-old William was living at 821 E. 173rd with his parents Harry and Sylvia and his 3-year-old sister Roslyn. 2. Knowing his age in 1950 let me search for a William Rabinowitz who was born ca 1942. I found him in the Birth Index of the City of New York, born on 26 July 1941. 3. A database called "U.S. Public Records" gave me an address, 11865 Metropolitan Ave #2, Kew Gardens, NY 11415. 4. That led me to a "phonebook" called Intelius.com. I searched for a William Rabinowitz born in 1941 at the Kew Gardens address and found him! So now there's good news and bad news. The good news is that I believe that I have found SP6 William Rabinowitz. The bad news is that Intelius indicates that he died on 24 November 2014. The sticking point is that I cannot in good conscience add a name to the In Memoriam list without documentation. Without an obituary or other record of his death, I can't differentiate THIS William Rabinowitz from the dozens of OTHER William Rabinowitzes. I'll keep looking for a published obituary. I will also keep searching for relatives to verify his passing. If anyone knows his sister Roslyn or her descendants, please ask her to be in touch with me.
•	RAA *Newsletter Archive* now available Wish you had saved those old issues of the Association Newsletter? Miss those updates on what "old timers" were doing? Trying to remember where George Koran was going next with his sailboat? Enjoyed reading what former Field Band commanders were thinking about? NO PROBLEM! An Archive of all of the print issues of the Newsletter (1992-2006) is now available - all 234 pages of it. The Newsletter was the mainstay of the Association in the early years. Your $5 dues brought you 3 or 4 issues each year via U S Mail thanks to the dedicated work of a small team of retirees led by Joey Greco. Check it out by going to https://www.lulu.com and search for "Army Field Band". You can get a printed copy of the Archive for $8.98 or download it as an eBook for free. And while you're there, check out the other publications supported by the RAA in celebration of the 75th Anniversary. https://www.lulu.com/search?adult_audience_rating=00&page=1&pageSize=10&q=newsletter%20archive%20-retiree
•	A Comprehenive Look at the Soldiers Chorus and its Origins The latest in-depth 75th Anniversary Field Band article by SFC Brian Eldridge is now available on the Field Band's home page. Click on "Origins: Volume 2 - The Soldiers’ Chorus: How it was Established by its First Directors" (https://www.armyfieldband.com/about/75th-anniversary) and sit back for a wonderful tour of the voices of the Field Band and how they evolved. Learn about the role each of the Soldiers Chorus early directors played in building this multi-faceted vocal group. SFC Eldridge has once again written an article that keeps you reading from beginning to end. You will be amazed at how much you didn't know about the history of the Soldiers Chorus. Coming up next? SFC Eldridge will now be turning his attention to jazz and how it found a home in the Field Band.
•	A Photo History of The United States Army Field Band: The First Seventy-Five Years (1946-2021) by S. Joseph Levine (Clarinet 1963-1966) The book consists of 19 chapters with a section for each decade of the band's history along with other chapters focusing on specific aspects of the band (the Drum Act, Transportation, Jazz, etc.). The full color pages are devoted to every imaginable aspect of the band. The book is available as a FREE download, as a softcover/paperback edition, or as a hardcover "coffee table" edition. The softcover and hardcover editions are 322 pages in length, printed back-to-back on heavy weight glossy paper (#80) with high density colored ink (of course the photos of the band's early years are all in black/white!). The cost of the softcover edition is $56.43 and the hardcover edition is $63.49. The downloadable eBook is FREE. If you've been looking for some way to help people understand what it is/was like serving in the military's finest musical organization - this is it. The book is available from Lulu.com - a well known online on-demand publishing company. They are set up to provide high quality printing in response to specific orders - they do not print copies ahead of time and warehouse them. It usually takes about 2 weeks for the book to arrive at your location. To order a copy, download a free copy - or just check it out, go to: https://www.lulu.com/search?adult_audience_rating=00&page=1&pageSize=10&q=field+band
•	Former Member of the Field Band? All former members of the U S Army Field Band have been entered into the database for this website. If you are a former member of the band, click on JOIN HERE (upper right), enter your name, and complete the short sign-up form. Your name will then be forwarded to the website administrators for verification. Once you are verified you will have full access to all parts of the webiste. *****************
•	The History of Taps A YouTube video by Joe Orosz (Class of 1982) -The History of Taps. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABNPNcf5Buk