Tate Band Members Honor Pearl Harbor Veterans On Hawaii Trip

December 24, 2016

The Tate High School Showband of the South joined in a special performance in Hawaii on December 7 to mark the 75th anniversary of the attack on Peal Harbor.

There were 115 Tate band members that made the trip, joining the bands of schools from across the country invited to perform at the USS Missouri on December 7.

“It was definitely very somber and an experience that none of us will forget,” said Kim Franklin, who served as one of 31 chaperones and staff for the Tate band. Each band member had to raise $2,400 to make the trip.

The group left in three buses for Atlanta on December 1, then flew to Hawaii and returned on December 10. Their trip included a tour of the USS Arizona Memorial.

Franklin, mother of the trumpet player J.D. Franklin, said as they were touring the memorial, one of the Pearl Harbor survivors arrived, which made it even more memorable.

The Arizona was hit four times by Japanese planes and sunk quickly. The bombs and explosions killed 1,177 of the 1,512 crewmen, which was about half of the total lives lost in the attack on Pearl Harbor.

“To see the wall of names and to think all those men are entombed there and how many families were impacted is very sombering,” Franklin said. “I told J.D. that you could go back to Hawaii but you wouldn’t be able to participate in the 75th anniversary. To be there was special.”

Greg Gomez, had the privilege of diving the USS Arizona on December 7 as part of the U.S. Marine Corps 3rd Force Reconnaissance Company.

It was part of the Division Dive Training Package for the 4th Marine Division, where they conducted dive operations in accordance with a training manual. Semiannually, Division Dive Packages are offered all over the world to establish Standard Operating Procedures for the Combatant Diver to employ in real world scenarios.

Gomez, who is a sergeant in the Marines, took video while he was on the dive.

“Diving the USS Arizona on the anniversary of Pearl Harbor was a surreal feeling,” he said. “I still can’t wrap my head around the fact I was looking at the graveyard of thousands of men who perished during the attack and their bodies are still trapped inside.”

The Tate band members took tours of different areas in Hawaii. On Dec. 7, they performed several songs at the USS Missouri during the program, including America the Beautiful, the Navy hymn, Fanfare for the Common Man, Summon the Heroes and the Armed Forces salute.

The band had a 3-hour practice on the day before the event and another 3-hour practice on the day of the event. They also had a separate performance on Waikiki Beach.

Tina Stojak traveled as a parent to take in the commemoration.

“It was very impressive, much more than I ever expected,” she said. “Seeing so many Pearl Harbor survivors; it was neat to meet them and hear their stories.

“Evan declared it the greatest week of his life,” Stojak said. “He was so into it and was in awe. He was very somber. It was a huge honor.”

Comments

One Response to “Tate Band Members Honor Pearl Harbor Veterans On Hawaii Trip”

  1. Adrian Enfinger on December 24th, 2016 4:15 pm

    Great story! Will there be a video of Tate’s participation in the ceremonies?

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News