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The 97^th Army Band, at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, was a United States Army band established in 1918 as the Second Engineer Band. In 1927 it moved to Fort Logan, southwest of Denver, and was renamed the "Post Band" and served there until 1939. The band was then reclassified as the 18th Engineer Combat Regimental Band and assigned to the First Corps Area. In that capacity, the band served tours of duty in Washington, Canada, and Alaska. In 1944, the band was redesignated as the 97th Ground Forces Band and moved from Alaska to Camp Gruber, Oklahoma, near Muskogee. The band was then assigned to the 4th Army and, in 1948, moved to Fort Sill. ^[1]

History

After World War II, the U.S. Army established The Field Artillery Field Troops at Fort Sill organized as a Headquarters Battery and 8 battalions.

• Headquarters & Headquarters Battery, FAS Troops
• 1st Battalion, FAS Troops
• 2nd Battalion, WAS Troops
• 3rd Battalion, FAS Troops
• 5th Battalion, FAS Troops
• 5th Battalion, FAS Troops
• Observation Battalion, FAS Troops
• Infantry Battalion, FAS Troops
• Truck Battalion, FAS Troops

More changes followed due to a need preserve the names of units that had earned distinguished combat records and to dispense with the table of distribution units that had been established as a wartime expedient in February 1945, Army Ground Forces directed certain reactivations and redesignations effecting the School Troops on August 1, 1946. The following table of organization units were activated at Fort Sill utilizing the personnel of the table of distribution units, all of which were concurrently discontinued.

5th FA Group 17th FA Battalion ( 105-mm Howitzer) 18th FA Battalion ( 105-mm Howitzer) 6th Armored FA Battalion ( 105-mm Howitzer) 2nd FA Battalion ( 155-mm Howitzer) let FA Battalion (Observation) 53d Infantry Battalion (Rifle) Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 53rd Quartermaster Battalion, Mobile 164th Quartermaster Tank Company 377th Quartermaster Tank Company 521st Quartermaster Tank Company 522d Quartermaster Tank Company

Soon thereafter, on November 1, 1946, The Artillery Center and The Artillery School was established at Fort Sill as part of The Field Artillery Field Troops.

Since 1946, the following units have served as School Support Units for the U.S. Army Artillery and Missile School:

Suptember 1946

• 5th FA Group
• 2nd FA Battalion (4.5-inch Rocket)
• 6th Armed FA Battalion ( 105-mm Howitzer)
• 17th FA Battalion (8-inch Howitzer)
• 18th FA Battalion (155-mm Gun Self Propelled, 155-mm and 105-mm extra)
• 1st FA Observation Battalion
• 53rd Infantry Battalion
• 53rd Quartermaster Battalion
• 97th Army Ground Forces Band

October 1947

• 5th FA Group
• 2nd FA Battalion (4.5-inch Rocket)
• 6th Armed FA Battalion ( 105-mm Howitzer)
• 17th FA Battalion (8-inch Howitzer)
• 18th FA Battalion (155-mm Gun Self Propelled)
• 1st FA Observation Battalion
• 53rd Infantry Battalion
• 969 FA Ballalion ( 155-mm Howitzer)
• 97th Army Band
• Battery A, 87th Rocket, FA Battalion
• 81st FA Battalion ( 155-mm Howitzer) ^[2]

Duties of the band

Like all modern U.S. military bands, the 97^th provided a broad range of music services for the Army — some of which routine or scheduled, but often on short-notice such as (i) military ceremonies that might include parades, presentations, and receptions; (ii) reveille, (iii) taps, (iv) pop and classical wind ensemble concerts, (v) choral concerts, (vi) dance band, (vii) military funerals, and (viii) civilian community service events, which included radio and television broadcasts, regional concert tours, and recruiting. The repertoire of the military wind ensemble ranged from march music — particularly that of the uniquely American Sousa swing style — to original works, to avant-garde, to transcriptions of orchestral classics, to arrangements of popular music. Many musicians in military bands held several roles and often had the ability to play multiple instruments in multiple styles. Many military musicians, including Slater, composed and arranged works. The disciplines required in military bands was education and cultivated leadership that was useful outside the military. Military musicians held ranks of enlisted personnel, yet many had academic college degrees. During the World War II, the U.S. military was the largest employer of musicians in the world. ^[1]

Beginning 1955, the 97^th was able to collaborate with musicians of another unit — the 77^th Army Band, an erstwhile de-activated unit that was re-activated February 24, 1955, at Fort Sill. After sixty-nine years, the 77^77th endures, today. The Army deactivated the 97^th Army Band May 6, 1970, and reassigned its members to the 77^th Army Band.

Selected personnel

1040s

1941–1945: Joseph August Manak (1919–2004), snare, trap, and bass drums ^[3]

1944–1946: Dale Edward Nelson (1926–2015), trumpet

1949–1951: William P. Lockard (1928–2013), instructor, saxophonist

1944–1946: Frank Donald Calistro (1925–2013), trumpet

1950s

• 1954–1956: Neil Slater, among other things, directed a weekly television show from Fort Sill. During Slater's era in the 97^th, Gary McFarland was among the musicians. ^[4] The 97^th Army Band has many distinguished alumni, which include the late jazz composer Clare Fischer, brother of the late music educator Dirk Fischer.

1950–1952: David Warren Powell (1930–1912),

1955–1957: Eugene Wilson "Gene" Shirley (1933–2015) went on to become a high school music educator, notably as Choir Director and head of the Fine Arts Department at Parkland High School, El Paso, for 29 years, ending 1991.

Stater, during his tenure with the 97^th, was able to collaborate with musicians of another unit — the 77^th Army Band, an erstwhile de-activated unit that was re-activated February 24, 1955, at Fort Sill. After sixty-nine years, the 77^77th endures, today. The Army deactivated the 97^th Army Band May 6, 1970, and reassigned its members to the 77^th Army Band.

Other 97^th Army Band members during the 1950s ^[5]

1951–1953: Ernest Repass (born 1929), 02E, tuba, trombone, double bass; Earnest went on to become a high school band direct; symphonic musician ( Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Fort Worth Opera) ^[6]

1952–1954: Morris Repass (born 1932), 02B, trumpet; Morris, Ernie's brother, went on to become a prolific studio musician on trombone, recording on dozens of major labels with renowned big bands, including those of Clare Fischer; he played in the One O'Clock Lab Band in 1960

1950s: Bill Galanko (né William Robert Galanko; 1931–2012), 42R

1954– 1956: Bill Gaver (né William Defern Gaver; born around 1933), 02L, clarinet and saxophone ( DMA - University of Missouri, Kansas City, 1971) ( photo)

1953–1955: Junior Rudolph Karas (1933–2017), clarinet and saxophone

1953–1955: Morton Cecil Cuplin (1927–2012), bugler; Cuplin went on to become a high school band director in Oklahoma, and notably, head of the music department at Bartlesville High School from 1966 to 1982.

1953–1955: Ted Hegvik (né Arthur Theodore Hegvik; born 1932), 02L, clarinet, saxophone ^[7]

1950s: Firmin J. Baye, Jr. (1931–2016) 02J, clarinet ^[8]

1950s: Neil Slater, 02N, piano

1950s: Larry Wilson, 02B, trumpet

1954–1956: Gary McFarland

1953–1955: Earl H. Spindler (born 1933) (from Cleveland, Wisconsin, son of Mr. & Mrs. Norman Spindler)

1953: Clare Fischer, 02L, listed as saxophonist, but was a famous pianist

1953–1955: David Musgrove (1933–2016), trumpet

1953–1954: Dwight Beckham, 02B, trumpet

1956–1958: Glenn J. Koca (born 1934) 037, saxophone

1955–1956: Frederick A. Mueller (1921–2002) (nl), bassoonist; from 1947 to 1955, Mueller was bassoonist in the 4th Army Band at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, the from 1955 to 1956, bassoonist with the 97th Army Band

Directors

1956: CWO Nicholas Keller was in charge of the 97^th Army Band

1950s: Paul F. Knickerbocker (1927–2014) (not sure whether it was the 77th and 97th), was Director of the Army Band at Fort Sill during the Korean War. source

1963–19??: Gordon Glenn Walliman (1921–1991), a native of Globe, Arizona, became the Band Director and Commander of the 97th in 1963.

CWO Thomas R. Porter, 20 years with the Army, retired while with the 97th Army Band in 1959.

97^th Army Marching Bands, 1953

"Stars in a Velvety Sky," by Herbert L. Clarke, performed by Pfc. Beckham, on YouTube

97^th Army Band Dance Band at Fort Sill (circa 1953)

Bob Slejko (leader), Ernest Repass (trombone), Prentice Jeffries (alto), Al Rosata (alto), Dwight Beckham (né Dwight Russel Beckham, Sr.; born 1931) (trumpet), Dick Kovac (tenor), Don Larsen (drums), George Unger (bass), Jim Ecker (piano)

97^th Army Dance Band, 1955

Neil Slater (piano), Dick Walker, Fred Mueller (sax), Floyd Sullivan (bass), Ray Papa (alto), Bob Glover (alto), Chuck Yabenski (bass) (incomplete list)

Source: The Bugler 97^th Army Band, Ft. Sill, Okla. Newsletter, Vol. 3, No. 6, November–December 2000; source url www2.moreheadstate.edu

• See: 97^th Army Band Newsletter

1960s

1966–1967: Doyle Maron Selph (1946–2013), trumpet

1969–1971: C. Tom Lane (né Charles Thomas Lane; 1950–2002), woodwinds, saxophone. After an honorable discharge, he returned to his hometown in Des Moines to play with the territory bands of Don Hoy, Everett Boyer, Bobby Layne, Bob Smith, Dwayne Mueller, Lonnie Lynn, Conrad Johns, and others.

1958–1961: Harold Lee Harmon (born 1936), a bugler, went on to become Sports Information Director at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, his alma mater, from about 1968 to 1999, and Sports Editor with The Durant Daily Democrat from about 1971 to 2004.

1967–1968: Dennis Jay Raffelock (born 1947), a tubist and double bassist, was first assigned to the U.S. Naval School of Music, then was re-assigned to the 97th Army Band. Raffelock is from Westbury, New York.

1970s

Around 1976 to about 1999 (23 years): Steven C. Lingle (born 1947), saxophonist and big band conductor. Originally form Tulsa, now living in the Olympic Peninsula, Lingle, while in the Army, conducted the jazz bands of the the 14th Army Band (the old WAC Band), the 296th Army Band in Japan, and the 6th Infantry Division Jazz in Anchorage, Alaska. Other band assignments included 97th Army Band at Fort Sill, 1st Army Band at Fort Meade, Maryland, and the U.S. States Army Field Band. ^[9]

Around 1970 to ??: James R. Bagby, Jr. (born 1943), trombonist.

Notes and references

• The Cannoneer was, from 1949 to 2015, the official weekly newspaper of Fort Sill. In 2015, the paper was renamed The Fort Sill Tribune. Reprints are obtainable by calling 580-442-5150 or emailing the request to CannoneerSill (at) conus (dot) army (dot) mil.

• The Bugler

Vol. 1 #1 (Dwight Beckham), January/February 2008

Vol. 1 #2 (Morris Repass)

Vol. 1 #3 (Clare Fischer)

Vol. 1 #4 (Mort Cuplin)

Vol. 1 #5 (Firmin Baye)

Vol. 1 #6 (Dick Kovac)

Vol. 2 #1 (Ernest Repass)

Vol. 2 #2 (Ted Hegvik)

Vol. 2 #3 (Bill Galanko)

Vol. 2 #4 (Art Theil)

Vol. 2 #5 (Neil Slater)

Vol. 2 #6 (Larry Wilson)

Vol. 3 #1 (Eddie Edwards)

Vol. 3 #2 (Jim Ecker)

Vol. 3 #3 (no feature)

Vol. 3 #4 (Roco Esposito and Robert Terrell Wilson)

Vol. 3 #5 (Frank Calistro)

Vol. 3 #6 (Fred Mueller)

Vol. 4 #1 (Jerold Ottley and Arthur Voiles)

Vol. 4 #2 (Clarence “Hoss” Boyd)

Vol. 4 #3 (Irving Jacobson)

Vol. 4 #4 (Glenn Koca)

Vol. 4 #5 (Charles “Red” Spurlin)

Vol. 4 #6 (C. Tom Lane - obituary and Jerold Ottley - Pt 2)

Vol. 5 #1 (Gil Teagarden)

Vol. 5 #2 (Bob Glick) (Clare Fischer - obit.)

Vol. 5 #3 (Darrell Cannedy)

Vol. 5 #4 (odds & ends)

Vol. 5 #5 (odds & ends)

Vol. 5 #6 (CWO Thomas R. Porter)

Vol. 6 #1 (Jim Bagby)

Vol. 6 #2 (David Powell and William Lockard)

Vol. 6 #3 (Doyle M. Selph)

Vol. 6 #4 (Doom and Gloom)

Vol. 6 #5 (Mike Mollo)

Vol. 6 #6 (Augustine Orlandi)

Vol. 7 #1 (Morris Repass – obituary) (history)

Vol. 7 #2 (Irving Jacobson – obituary)

Vol. 7 #3 (77th Army Band)

Vol. 7 #4 (early 70s)

Vol. 7 #5(Calistro obit. and photos)

Vol. 7 #6 (Johnnie Ray)

References

Category:Bands of the United States Army