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The Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet Band (Unit 56) forms when the Pacific Fleet headquarters is established at Pearl Harbor.
The Battle of Music band competition begins in Pearl Harbor Naval Station’s Bloch Arena.
Held every two weeks, the Battle of Music features Navy bands from capitol ships homeported in Pearl Harbor, and bands attached to shore installations in Hawaii. Four bands compete in each round for the chance to compete in the final round of the competition. Each band competes with a swing number, a ballad and a specialty tune, and performs for a jitterbug contest.
The USS Arizona (BB 39) band, Navy Band Unit 22, wins the first round of the competition.
Navy Band Unit 22 competes in the first semifinal round of the Battle of Music. They place second behind the Marine Barracks Band.
Bands from USS Pennsylvania (BB 38), USS Tennessee (BB 43) and USS Argonne (AG 31) compete in the Battle of Music. The band from USS Detroit (CL 8) was scheduled to compete, but their ship deployed a few days earlier.
Several members of the Arizona band attend the contest to see their upcoming competition, and to visit with Navy School of Music shipmates assigned to the Tennessee band.
The Pennsylvania band is the winner that evening.
While the band from USS Nevada (BB 36) plays Morning Colors, the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor commences. The entire Arizona band, while at battle stations passing ammunition under gun turret number one, is killed during the attack.
The final round of the Battle of Music competition is cancelled.
In the weeks following December 7, the participants vote to posthumously award the tournament trophy to Navy Band Unit 22, renaming it the Arizona Trophy.
CWO3 George L. Briley
Bandmaster
CWO3 John H. Norris
The U.S. Pacific Fleet Band operates from a building at Supply Base Pearl Harbor, just inside the Halawa Gate.
The band travels extensively, representing Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet throughout the Pacific. Engagements include South Korea, Guam, the Philippines and Okinawa.
The band travels with the Barbers Point Naval Air Station Band to the South Pacific to commemorate the battle of the Coral Sea. The bands made the trip every three years, rotating with the Hickam Air Force Base Band and the Schofield Barracks Army Band.
Ports of call for performances on these trips included the Australian cities of Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, as well as performances in New Zealand, New Caledonia, and American Samoa.
The band moves across the street just inside the CINCPACFLT gate, sharing a building with Fleet Imaging.
CWO4 Richard E. Larson
Band Unit 3 closes. Pacific Fleet Band moves to the Pearl Harbor Naval Station Band building at Bishop Point near Hickam Harbor.
The band moves to its current facility, Building 277, located at the historic Pearl Harbor Naval Station Marine Barracks compound.
In addition to being used for band workspaces, the building also served as barracks for band personnel during the early years of occupancy.
CWO4 John H. Norris
The band deploys to South Vietnam for three to four weeks. During the tour, they perform concerts in Da Nang, Ben Hoa, Cam Ranh Bay and Saigon.
The band travels to their performance sites on whatever military aircraft are available at the time. This creates some delays in travel.
In one instance, the band is marooned in Cam Ranh Bay for nearly a week while waiting for any available plane to take them to their next destination.
During another close call, the band arrives at an airfield within an hour of it being shelled by the enemy.
CWO Philip H. Field
CWO4 John E. Ingram, Jr.
The U.S. Pacific Fleet Band performs a number of Hawaii concerts with local musicians, including Jimmy Borges, Cheryl Barash, Melveen Leed and Ira Nepus.
LT William G. Brittain
The Pacific Fleet Chorale is established. Formed to compliment concert performances by the Pacific Fleet Band, the ensemble is an all-volunteer chorus comprised of active duty members and dependents of all branches of the armed forces stationed on Oahu. The Chorale was active until 1980.
LT Leo H. Leary, III
The International Sea Services Combined Wind Ensemble performs a concert in Hawaii at Kapiolani Park.
Held during the Rim of the Pacific exercise, the performance features various military musicians from the participating countries’ naval forces, including U.S. Pacific Fleet Band.
LCDR Harold R. Hessler
LCDR Thomas E. Metcalf
The Pacific Fleet Band arrives in Qingdao, China aboard the USS Reeves (CG 24).
The trip was part of a historic 15-day port call, the first visit by U.S. Navy ships to the country in 37 years.
LT J. Michael Alverson
The band travels to India for ceremonies commemorating the 150th anniversary of the American Consul in Bombay.
The band travels to Australia, playing for audiences in Melbourne, Cairns and Canberra. The tour culminates with a performance at the Sydney Opera House.
LT John H. Farquhar
LT Gary R. Seitz
The band’s facility, Building 277, is documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey. The building was a Marine barracks prior to and during World War II.
The band travels to Midway Island to participate in the dedication of a monument commemorating the Battle of Midway.
The trip’s highlight was the premier performance of The Battle of Midway Island March, written and conducted by Ambassador J. William Middendorf II. Middendorf was a veteran of World War II and a former secretary of the Navy.
The march was written in recognition of the men who fought and died to change the course of the war in the Pacific.
U.S. Pacific Fleet and the Russian Pacific Fleet conduct Cooperation from the Sea ’95, a combined maritime disaster relief exercise. The exercise was the first major exercise conducted by the two fleets in the United States.
The U.S. Pacific Fleet Band hosted a visiting Russian navy band during the exercise.
The band performs at a variety of Hawaii events commemorating the end of World War II and the 50th anniversary of V-J Day.
Highlights of the band’s participation include a presidential wreath-laying ceremony on USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) in Pearl Harbor; an international parade of ships and aircraft off the coast of Honolulu; a presidential parade and review through downtown Honolulu and Waikiki; and an old-fashioned hangar dance on board Carl Vinson Sept. 2, honoring all WWII veterans.
The band conducts over 40 engagements over a nine-day period.
The band participates in the opening ceremonies for the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies.
LT R. G. Barrett
The band participtes in opening the Battleship Missouri Memorial.
The band performs for the opening of The Moving Wall, a traveling half-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, at the USS Arizona Memorial Visitor Center.
The band participates in the closing of Naval Air Station Barbers Point.
The band travels to Guam to perform at the 40th anniversary of the commissioning of USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63).
The band performs for the premiere of the movie Pearl Harbor aboard USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74).
LT Dale E. Yager
LT Kenneth C. Collins
LT Bruce A. McDonald
LCDR David W. Hodge
LCDR Robert J. Wrenn
LT Patrick K. Sweeten
LT Kelly Cartwright
LT Brian S. Chaplow
LCDR Luslaida Barbosa