"I consider it a privilege to be on the EFHT. Before I joined the team I respected our Vets, but I really only thought about them on Veterans Day or Memorial Day. Being on the team has given me a better understanding of what our vets and their families have gone through. I am now more grateful for their sacrifices on a regular basis. Being on the team allows me to show how proud I am of our vets and how thankful I am for them."
"When I first joined the Enduring Freedom Honor team I didn’t think much about why I joined. It was during our first performance at Hunter McGuire Medical Hospital that I realized why I joined. I joined so that I could at least attempt to thank every veteran that has sacrificed so much for my freedom. It is too late to thank those that have already passed on, but for the ones that remain I want to do all I can to display my gratitude to them. I know they appreciate what we are doing for them by their reactions. The veterans that aren’t too choked up to talk just from the sight of our uniforms want to talk to us because they know we will listen. I have learned from the short time I’ve been in the enduring freedom honor team that as long as those veterans are willing to talk, I need to be willing to listen because that is the only way they will never be forgotten."
"I am in the Enduring Freedom Honor Team because I want the veterans to know that they are appreciated. Today, people may not care or even remember our veterans. They should be remembered because they fought for our country. I really appreciate the veterans and their sacrifice made for our country’s freedom."
"When I first joined the Honor Team, I was happy to be playing the WWII era music. I always like patriotic music so I did not mind coming to practice and playing for the veterans or anyone else who wanted to hear. But when I found out we were going to be wearing the "Eisenhower” jackets, I really started to think about the effects it would have on our veterans. At every performance so far I have had the opportunity to talk to the veterans; and our group has had the opportunities to touch many lives. I am how glad to be in the group because I get to meet and see veterans who have much brighter faces then before we played for them. Playing for these veterans is a way to thank them for their service and to let them know that they are not forgotten."
"One of the things I have most loved about the Enduring Freedom Honor Team is getting to listen to the veterans. Whether it is a story from a marine in the Bethesda Naval Hospital, or the D-Day reminiscence of WWII infantrymen, these heroes deserve to have their stories heard and respected."
"At first when I started honor team it was just another band thing, but as the year started to go on and we did more performances, my focus began to change. Instead of it just being band performance, it became an outreach to the greatest generation of America. I had a great grandfather who drove a tank in WWII. I do this to honor him and every soldier who fought beside him."
"People are always asking why I want to give up my days off and do this Honor Team stuff, and for the longest time I made up reasons like the music is fun or something like that; but when we went to Bethesda, I remembered why we have the Enduring Freedom band. During our last performance of the day on Floor five with the marines that were in Iraq, I saw a mother of one of the soldiers, and you could tell while we were setting up that she was glad we were there and as we started, that she was enjoying the music. As we continued, we got to some of the slower songs and eventually to You Raise Me Up. As we started that song, I glanced at her and I’ll never forget how she looked at that moment. She was tearing up, and it was then I remembered why we do this…. . We do it for the vets, for the families, and all those that will never be the same because of their sacrifices. I don’t know if I’ll ever forget this time in the Honors Team; it has meant a lot and has changed the way I see things."
"Being on the Honor Team helped me appreciate our veterans more, not only on veteran’s day but everyday. I have more respect for those who have left their families to fight for our freedoms. When we go to play for the injured soldiers and their parents it means a lot to them. Usually adults think that teenagers don’t care about what is going on outside of our lives. But the parents that see us know that we really do care and appreciate what their son or daughter is doing. They know that we care about them and that we are constantly praying for them."
"I was first approached about being on Honor Team when I was at work this summer. We just had a concert on Memorial Day, The Enduring Freedom Concert. Mr. Reed came to me and asked me if I’d like to be a part of an ensemble that would travel to different places with veterans and current members of The Armed Forces that were wounded. I was for it. We have been to a few places before, but we have never been to so many places in one year. It’s been a blessing playing at all these places. I have found that seeing and listening to all the veterans and wounded soldiers has changed my outlook on the military. It has definitely been a great blessing."
"The reason I joined The Honor Team is to go out and show that I have not forgotten what our veterans have done for this country; because, without their lives laid on the line for us, we would not have the wonderful freedoms we have today. I have been influenced greatly, not only by some of the veterans we met, but also getting the great experiences with this wonderful group."
"FBS Honor Team has taught me how much the veterans went through for the freedoms we have today. My great granddad was a world war II tank driver. He served in Europe and had many stories to tell about his experiences. I never really asked about his war stories though, and after seeing some of the veterans at the hospital, I regret that. I hope being on the honor team will help me appreciate military veterans more.
"I am in the Enduring Freedom Honor Team to honor Veterans that were in World War II and all the other servicemen and women, and let them know that they are not forgotten. I want to let them know that we appreciate all that they did for us and all that they are doing for us in Iraq and around the world today."
INSTRUMENTS:
Flute ("Mom"), 1st Clarinet ("Map"), 2nd Clarinet, 3rd Clarinet ("Clicker"),
1st Trumpet ("Kilroy"), 2nd Trumpet ("Smack"), French Horn ("Spud"), Euphonium,
1st Trombone, Tuba ("Tank"), Percussion ("Sticks"), Alto Sax
Conductor: Greg Reed ("Col.")