Stratford High School Band Parade Memories
Sources: Dr. Mark Ryan, SHS band director
December 4th through 8th, 2024
The journey for 80 Stratford High School band members, parents, and chaperones, began two years ago when Dr. Mark Ryan, Stratford High School Band Director, received and email from Joel Biggs of Heritage Productions, inviting the Stratford High School Band to participate in the Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade. The invitation came with a video of previous parades, a strong factor in securing permission for SHS to participate..
National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, also referred to as Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day or Pearl Harbor Day, is observed annually to remember and honor the 2,403 Americans who were killed in the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941, which led to the United States declaring war on Japan the next day and thus entering World War II. Nearly half, or 1,177, were sailors and Marines on board the USS Arizona, which sank during the battle. The remains of more than 900 Arizona crewmembers are still entombed on the submerged vessel.
According to Ryan, “The trip was Extraordinary. When they (the SHS band members) saw history live it was very powerful there was a ceremony before the parade, and they played God Bless America, and the Star Spangled Banner with the military band.”
Dozens of survivors once joined the event but their attendance has declined as survivors have aged. Today there are only 16 still living, according to a list maintained by Kathleen Farley, the California state chair of the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors. Military historian J. Michael Wenger has estimated there were some 87,000 military personnel on Oahu on the day of the attack.
On stage for the ceremony was a member of the original band from Pearl, Ike Schab. Schab was a sailor on the USS Dobbin at the time of the attack, serving as the tuba player in the ship’s band. He had showered and put on a clean uniform when he heard the call for a fire rescue party. He hurried topside to see Japanese planes flying overhead and the USS Utah capsizing. He quickly went back below deck to join a daisy chain of sailors feeding shells to an anti-aircraft gun topside.
Schab agreed when ceremony organizers asked him earlier this year to salute on behalf of all survivors and World War II veterans. “I was honored to do it. I’m glad I was capable of standing up,” he said afterward. “I’m getting old, you know.”
Ken Stevens, 102, who served on the USS Whitney, joined Schab at the ceremony. USS Curtiss sailor Bob Fernandez, 100, was unable to come due to health issues.
Hawaii Tour Schedule
Group: Stratford High School
| December 4, Wednesday. Flight to Hawaii |
| December 5, Thursday. Island Tour and Polynesian Cultural Center |
Polynesian Cultural Center
Dole Plantation
| December 6, Friday. Pearl Harbor Visit |
Get ready for your Tribute Performance Tribute Performance (one hour time slot)
| December 7, Saturday. Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade |
March in the Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade!
| December 8, Sunday. Final Day in Hawaii |
5:05PM Depart Honolulu, Hawaiian Airlines 50
| December 9, Monday |
Arrive at Stratford High School. Go home and take a nap!
WELL DONE STRATFORD HIGH SCHOOL – WE ARE PROUD OF YOU!
Editors Note: The Stratford High School Band has been invited to participate in the following events:
March 17: St. Patrick’s Day Parade in NYC (we won 1st place High School Ensemble Bands last year)
March 22: Our Jazz Band will be performing in the National Jazz Festival in Philadelphia.
March 25: Our Band and Orchestra have been invited to perform at Carnegie Hall for the Manhattan Productions High School Instrumental Festival and our Jazz Band will perform on the flight deck of the USS Intrepid that same day.
We are looking for donations to help the students defray the cost of these trips. Checks can be made out to Stratford High School and sent ℅ Music Department.
