..........trip to Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Last week, I took a trip with my steel drum band students that meant more to me than anything I've ever done as a teacher. We went to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center Hospital in Washington, D.C. and played a couple of concerts for our wounded American soldiers, airmen, naval, and Marine personnel. Words really can't express how special this experience was. It all began as an idea I had to give something back to the troops that are currently serving us overseas. I have ensembles that often play for veterans affairs and memorials; but, we haven't done anything for those currently serving. Most of the other stuff was in the way of memorials. There are currently somewhere in the neighborhood of 40,000+ American service personnel who have come back to us from duties in Afghanistan and Iraq who have been wounded. These gallant men and women took the oath to protect America and serve at the discretion of the Commander in Chief of the USA. They did so without question, and we owe them all the honor that we can possibly muster. Oddly enough, these wounded don't get very much attention from the general public. After realizing that, I contacted our Congresswoman, Virginia Foxx; and asked if she could provide me with some contacts on how we could go to Washington and perform. I got the necessary phone numbers from her staff and began calling. The people at Walter Reed were very excited about us coming and we set a performance date right away. I then went through the proper school channels to get our trip approved. For any overnight trip, I have to go to our local board of education and offer a presentation for approval. We were approved in a unanimous vote of the BOE. The timeline for raising the necessary money for the trip and the departure date were very close together. I was not really sure that we would be able to pull it off. I had two weeks to get things paid for. I talked to my church one Sunday morning and presented a ten-minute talk on our local AM radio station. In ten days, we raised $8,300 for the trip! Wow! It really warms my heart to know that our community supports our veterans this much. We raised enough money to pay for all our hotel accommodations and to charter a bus.

We packed all the instruments and luggage onto our bus (yes, it almost didn't fit) and departed for Washington, D.C. at 6:00 AM Saturday morning. We arrived in D.C. about 3:00 PM, checked into our hotel and went "monument hopping". I got us a hotel that was two blocks from Union Station and two blocks from the US Capitol - a great location. We went to Union Station for dinner and rode the Metro to the National Mall area. We then walked to the Washington Monument, on to the World War II Monument (this was my first time seeing this stunning memorial), over to the Korean War Memorial; then backtracked over to the tidal basin, walked by the cherry blossom trees and over to the FDR Memorial, went back to the Lincoln Monument, over to the Vietnam Memorial (this is always a very moving place to be), over to the White House, and back to the hotel - we finished by 10:00 PM; and yes, this was a lot of walking! The next morning, we visited Arlington Cemetery. We had enough funds to take the tour bus (it was raining). We saw the eternal flame at the grave site of President Kennedy, Audie Murphy's grave site, a memorial to Civil War soldiers, toured Arlington House, and saw a couple of wreath laying ceremonies and the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. In all, we stayed at Arlington about two and one-half hours. After visiting the National Cemetery, we went to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum (the American History building was closed). After that, I asked the kids where they wanted to visit - they all responded that they would like to visit the Holocaust Museum; so, that's where we went. I was impressed with their choice and their maturity in this very serious place. Following our day of sightseeing, we went back to the hotel, rested (not a typical band trip), and got ready for dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe.

The next day, we met our Congresswoman for breakfast in the Capitol Members Dining Room. This is a private dining area in the Capitol that you may visit only if a member of Congress invites you to do so. If you've never toured the Capitol, put it on your "things to do" list - what a beautiful building. Following breakfast, the Congresswoman and her staff took us on the full tour. Now, I really must sound like I don't get to town often; but, I was in complete awe that I was walking in places that George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Abraham Lincoln (just to name a few) have actually been. We got to go down into the Congressional Chamber and sit in the seats of Congress while our Congresswoman and another Congressman talked to us about the meeting hall and the goings-on in there. Again, wow! I'm sitting in seats where it all takes place! Now, when you see the State of the Union Address each year, the President comes in from the back and seemingly takes forever to make his way down to the podium of this massive hall. Let me just say this - camera angles. There are only eight rows of seats in the entire hall - that's right; only eight rows! The upper seats are only three rows deep. This is not the enormous hall that it appears to be. Following our tour, we all had a picture made on the steps - I'll get you some pics in the next post.

We then boarded the bus and departed for the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Now, Walter Reed Hospital got a lot of bad press in the past couple of years for their conditions there. This is a complex of buildings that stretches over many acres of real estate. The hospital has been in operation since 1909, and some of the buildings are showing their age. I don't know for sure; but, I bet my grandfather, who got gassed in WWI, came here for treatment upon returning from France. These are the buildings that were shown by the Washington Post, etc. None of our wounded soldiers should ever be recovering in anything but the absolute best; and the commander of the Walter Reed Healthcare System lost his job over that report. We were scheduled to play in the main dining facility for the noon meal. They serve, on average, over 5,000 troops in here each day. We came in, set up our equipment and started the concert. Our Congresswoman went with us and went into the crowd shaking hands and offering thanks for their service. We got a great response from the hospital workers and the patients who were able to attend. As I looked around the room, I saw that a couple of men worked their way up to a table right in front of us. They were "grooving" to the music and obviously enjoying themselves with our performance. As a glanced down, I noticed that both men had a titanium leg. I went over to one of them and asked about their unit. He told me that he was Army, and was a combat engineer. He also shared with me that he had lost his leg diffusing an unexploded ordinance. He went on to say that he appreciated so very much us coming to the hospital and playing for them. He couldn't believe that we had driven over 300 miles just to do a concert for them. At that moment, I was embarrassed. He was thanking me for doing something so very small for us in the light of his sacrifice to all of America. I also realized that we had completed our original mission with a high degree of success. These wounded deserve all the best that America has to offer. I can't believe that more groups don't come in to entertain them and help take their minds off of their hardships, if only for an hour or so.

During the concert, the Commander of the hospital, Col. Horaho; came in to greet us and listen to the music. Wow, what a small world. Colonel Horaho is an Appalachian State graduate, and she has over 1,000 troops in her command at the hospital! We also found out that our Congresswoman was her advisor when they were both at ASU. Wherever a full-bird Col. is, underling officers are trailing close behind. I counted 16 other officers there. The NCO ranks were represented by the Command Sergeant Major of the facility, and his underlings. Colonel Horaho came over to thank the students and me for coming to the hospital, and asked if we could wait for a few minutes longer - she had something she wanted to give to us. When she returned, she had a bag full of her Commander's Coins. Let me tell you something about this ritual. All upper level commanders have a special coin that represents the unit they command. The coins are elaborately decorated with their unit motto and depict what the unit is about. These coins are presented by commanders to others for exemplary service that goes above and beyond the norm. Colonel Horaho presented each student and me with one of these coins personally. She took the time to perform the "handshake ceremony" with each one of us. As this was going on, I noticed all the underlings whispering to one another. Following this, one of the officers, a Captain, came over and asked to see the coin. He said; "Wow, do you know how special this is? I've never even seen one of her coins. These don't get passed around for anything less than very, very special events." Needless to say, the coin will have a place of honor in my home. The coin is beautiful, with the motto; "Providing Warrior Care".

Another interesting thing happened at the concert. Whenever the automatic doors opened into the patient halls on the same floor as the dining hall, the patients said the music came down to their rooms as clear as a bell. The patients wondered what was going on, and asked if the doors could remain open. The Command Sergeant Major ordered the doors left open so all could hear the music. The patients that could not come to the dining hall were able to hear the whole performance as well. The Sergeant Major asked if we had time to perform again on a lower floor where the main foyer was located. His idea was to order all the hallways open so everyone could hear the music. All the patient hallways opened into this 40 ft. open area. With the help of parents and the military, we move our equipment downstairs and played again. Everyone had a great time. Following this, the Sergeant Major gave me one of his coins. Again, many of the underlings wanted to see the coin.

I can't tell you how special this was for the students and me. We were assured that we had done some good on that day. The Walter Reed Army Medical Center specializes in wounds to limbs. The head traumas and other flesh wounds go to Bethesda Naval Hospital. All branches of the service are treated at both facilities. Walter Reed Hospital will be 100 years old next year. Currently, work is being done at Bethesda Naval Hospital to expand services there. In 2011, Walter Reed will close and all hospital services will be at the newly named, Bethesda National Military Hospital. As a nation, we need to not forget the sacrifices of the many that defend us. Getting involved and doing something may be more appreciated that you may think.