Return to Pointer View home page July 8,  2005

West Point marks July 4 with revelry, patriotism Story and photos by Spc. Benjamin Gruver Staff Writer
	Fireworks light up the night sky at Trophy Point marking the conclusion of the U.S. Military Academy Band's Independence Day concert.

Thousands of people flooded the Trophy Point Amphitheatre here Sunday to help celebrate the nation’s 229th birthday.

The annual event featured the U.S. Military Academy Concert Band playing patriotic music as the sun disappeared over the horizon, topped off by a breathtaking display of fireworks.

The event also provided new cadets with a chance to take their first deep breath after a week of cadet basic training. The band even performed a special song for the group called “Hang Tough.”

The song, arranged by band member Sgt 1st Class Douglas Richard, featured a narration written by retired Maj. Dick Winters.

Winters became famous through the television miniseries “Band of Brothers,” which documented the Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division through their battles in WW II, explained Staff Sgt. Eric Kuper, the USMA Band’s publicity person.  

In his letter congratulating the Class of 2009 for joining the Long Gray Line, Winters explained what becoming a leader means to him.

“There are a million definitions of leadership,” wrote Winters. “Everyone has his own definition, but the final line in getting the job done in each and every case is you saying ‘follow me!’”

The narrative piece, Kruper said,  was the first time he could remember playing something that was specifically written for the cadets. However, he said, the band was happy to do something to lift their spirits.

“They get few opportunities, especially at first, to breathe and to relax,” Kuper said. “It feels nice to give them a little encouragement, a little positive reinforcement.”

Along with “Hang Tough” the band performed a salute to the nation. Other crowd favorites were the “Armed Forces Medley” and the encore “Stars and Stripes Forever.” The “1812 Overture” by Tchaikovsky, complete with cannons, marked the end of the concert.

One onlooker, Roy Coates, a high school band director in Rhinebeck, N.Y., said, “I think the ‘Overture of 1812’ was wonderfully played by the band and the synchronicity of the cannons with the music was exquisitely perfect with the fireworks and just visually stimulating to the max.”

The spectators were not the only ones who enjoyed the event. Band members said they look forward to this each year because they love playing in front of such a large crowd.

 “It is nice to touch so many people at one time,” Kuper said. “You always try to play a little bit better and look a little bit better when you have a couple of thousand eyes looking at you instead of just a handful.

“That is what makes it really exciting,” he added.