1st Marine Division Band
{{short description|USMC military unit band}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name=1st Marine Division Band
|image=File:1st Marine Division Band hosts annual concert in Escondido DVIDS397893.jpg
|image_size=350px
|caption=The 1st Marine Division Band performimg at the Escondido Arts Center.
|dates=1940 – present
|country=
|allegiance=
|branch={{Marines|United States|size=23px}}
|type=military band
|role=Public duties
|size=50 members
|command_structure=23px 1st Marine Division
|garrison=Camp Pendleton, California
|website=
|patron=
|motto=
|colors=
|march=Marine Hymn (official hymn)
Semper Fidelis (official march)
Waltzing Matilda (divisional march)
|nickname=1st MARDIV Band
|battles=
|current_commander=Master Sergeant Andrew Cox
|commander1=Captain Eric Kyne
|commander1_label=OIC
|commander2=Master Gunnery Sergeant Devon T. Van
|commander2_label=Bandmaster
|notable_commanders={{bulletedlist|Chief Warrant Officer Mike Edmonson|CWO3 Edward Hayes}}
}}
The 1st Marine Division Band is a regional military band of the United States Marine Corps, reporting directly to the 1st Marine Division. It is stationed in Camp Pendleton, California. The band serves as the de facto USMC representative for the Western United States, performing at over 300 military and state functions, civic events, and military parades a year.{{cite web|url=https://marineparents.com/units/print.asp?id=476|title=1st Marine Division Band (1st MARDIV Band) |website=marineparents com}}{{cite web|url=https://www.mcall.com/sdpn-1st-marine-division-band-to-perform-free-concerts-2014jan15-story.html|title=1st Marine Division Band to perform free concerts in Escondido|first=Emily|last=Sorensen|website=mcall.com}}
History
The 1st Marine Division Band was organized during World War II when the division was based in Australia to participate in the Pacific War. On the occasion of President George Washington's birthday in February 1943, the 1st MARDIV Band played Waltzing Matilda, an Australian bush ballad which would later be the official march of the division. The band would play this march again in April of that year during an ANZAC Day parade in Melbourne{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NSHSURbzEvwC&q=1st+Marine+Division+Band&pg=PA93|title=A Narrative History of the 1st Battalion, 11th Marines During the Early History and Deployment of the 1st Marine Division, 1940-43|first=James C.|last=Rill|date=6 May 2019|publisher=Merriam Press|isbn=9781576383179|via=Google Books}} and would continue to play it exclusively during the division's deployment to Australia. In recent years, all 50 members of the band have taken up arms to serve on the battlefield, especially during the Gulf War, the Iraq War and the Iraq conflict (2003–present).{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-oct-24-me-parade24-story,amp.html|title=Back From Iraq, Marine Band Will Lead Big Parade|date=24 October 2003|publisher=|via=LA Times}} During the lattermost conflict, the band was attached to Headquarters Company, 5th Marine Regiment at Camp Fallujah, Iraq from February 2006–January 2007.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CX1ZDwAAQBAJ&q=1st+Marine+Division+Band&pg=PA204|title=Encyclopedia of Military Science|first=G. Kurt|last=Piehler|date=24 July 2013|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=9781506310817|via=Google Books}} During this deployment, the band served as a security platoon.{{cite web|url=https://www.1stmardiv.marines.mil/Units/1ST-DIV-BAND/|title=1st Marine Division > Units > 1ST DIV BAND|website=www.1stmardiv.marines.mil}}{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/programs/atc/transcripts/2003/mar/030313.burnett.html|title=NPR: Analysis: 1st Marine Division Band Prepares for Battle in the Kuwaiti Desert|website=www.npr.org}} In 2008, the band was awarded the "Colonel George S. Howard Citation of Musical Excellence for Military Concert Bands" by the John Philip Sousa Foundation.{{cite web|url=https://www.pasadenaindependent.com/arts-and-entertainment/the-1st-marine-division-band-plays-arcadia-august-7/|title=The 1st Marine Division Band plays Arcadia August 7|date=31 July 2014|publisher=}} In 2006, the band took part in the State funeral of President Gerald Ford and has annually taken part in the Rose Parade as part of the USMC West Coast Composite Band.{{cite web|url=https://www.alisolagunanews.com/renowned-1st-marine-division-band/|title=Renowned 1st Marine Division Band to perform during Vietnam Veterans Recognition Ceremony|date=13 September 2014|publisher=}}
Ensembles
The following ensembles are subordinated to the 1st MARDIV Band:
Gallery
File:1st Marine Division Band arrives at Fleet Week 121005-M-OM885-956.jpg|CWO3 Edward Hayes, director of the 1st Marine Division Band, conducting during a concert at the California Maritime Academy in Vallejo.
File:150526-M-EP759-092.jpg|Members of the band with the Musique des Troupes de Marine in 2015.
File:1st Marine Division Band performs on San Francisco street 121006-M-OM885-106.jpg|
File:5TH Marines Belleau Wood Ceremony 150531-M-EP759-025.jpg|
File:1st MSOB changes command 130301-M-PF875-001.jpg|
File:USMC-111010-M-AK999-005.jpg|
Sources
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category-inline}}
- [https://m.youtube.com/user/1stMarDivTFB 1st Marine Division Band] on YouTube
- [https://www.1stmardiv.marines.mil 1st Marine Division Band]
- [https://www.nbcsandiego.com/on-air/as-seen-on/First-Marine-Division-Band_San-Diego-508667042.html?amp=y Camp Pendleton's 1st Marine Division Band Jams] by KNSD
{{United States military bands|state=collapsed}}