Photo By Gunnery Sgt. Cristina Bates | Ten-year-old Courtney Crane, from Gladstone, Australia, dances with Staff Sgt. James...... read more read more
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QUEENSLAND, Australia — Members of the U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific band showcased their talent and kicked off their tour of Australia, July 3.
The band is touring Australia during Talisman Saber 2009, a biennial combined training activity, designed to train Australian and U.S. forces in planning and conducting combined task force operations, which will help improve Australian Defence Force/U.S. combat readiness and inter-operability.
The brass quintet started out the day at the North Rockhampton Senior Citizens' Club for a Fourth of July luncheon. While members of the club sipped on tea and coffee, the quintet entertained the crowd with classic songs and some of their personal favorites.
During World War II, more than 60,000 U.S. service members were stationed in Rockhampton. Since then, the relationship between the community and the U.S. military has been a strong one.
For one Rockhampton couple, Edna and Keith Brown, celebrating the day makes them feel closer to their son, Ross, who now resides in Evansville, Ind.
"We have always celebrated the Fourth of July. Many families here in Rocky have daughters who married U.S. servicemen and have other ties to the U.S.," said Edna Brown, a Rockhampton resident. "Mainly, we celebrate the alliance we've shared for many years and an appreciation for one another."
After their performance, the quintet joined the rest of the band in Yeppoon, a coastal resort town in Queensland, where members of the MarForPac Show Band, "Command and Control," prepared to perform on the sunny beach.
Some people stopped to watch out of curiosity; others saw advertisements for the event in the newspaper. Michael Brazier, a Rockhampton native, was anticipating the event since watching a previous Marine Corps band performance.
"I saw the band perform here in Rocky a couple years ago, and after watching that, I wasn't going to miss this," said Brazier, who watched the show with his wife, Laurelle. "They added their own twist to popular songs that both young and old know. It made for a perfect afternoon."
Through public events like this, the civilian population is exposed to a side of the military not often seen and the positive outcomes of Exercise Talisman Saber 2009 can be emphasized.
"It's impossible for the civilian population not to be involved in Talisman Saber. With more than 16,000 U.S. troops expected to be in country, [TS09] has a huge impact on their economy as well as their communities," said the officer-in-charge of the MarForPac band, Chief Warrant Officer Bryan Sherlock, an Indianapolis, Ind. native.
The connection created between the civilian and military communities is especially deeper for those who have family serving in the military, said Noela Rodda. Rodda's son is deployed as an Australian army combat engineer in Afghanistan.
"It's wonderful to sit out here and get to hear great music and see men and women in uniform," Rodda said. "It's hard, as a mother, having your son in harm's way. But being out here seeing the morale among these Marines somehow gives me a sense that he's okay over there."
After completing the first day of their Australian tour and learning from the small glitches that came up, Sherlock predicts it will only get better.
"If we keep getting the response we got out here today, we'll have no problem. Huge, energized crowds like this energize the band and bring out the best in them," Sherlock said.
The MarForPac band will be performing at the following locations:
5 July — Talisman Saber Open Day, 1-6 p.m., Riverside Park, Rockhampton
6 July — Mt. Morgan Public Concert, 11:30 a.m. — 1 p.m., Mt. Morgan Central Primary Schol, Mt. Morgan
7 July — Stockland Rockhampton Shopping Centre Public Concert, 3 — 3:45 p.m., Corner Kerrigan Street and Musgrave Street, Rockhampton
9 July — Ipswich Children's Hospital, 2 p.m., Brisbane
10 July — Broadbeach Mall, 1 p.m., Broadbeach Mall, Gold Coast
11 July — Brisbane Town Common, noon, Brisbane; Brisbane Football Stadium, Pre-game performance.
| Date Taken: | 07.03.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 07.07.2009 01:53 |
| Story ID: | 36050 |
| Location: | QL, AU |
| Web Views: | 138 |
| Downloads: | 90 |
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