Photo By Cpl. Antwain Graham | Children from Bumrung Rawiwon Wittaya Elementary and Middle School, Bangkok, Thailand,...... read more read more
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BANGKOK, Thailand - More than 2,000 Thai children cheered and danced as the Royal Thai Air Force band and the III Marine Expeditionary Force band performed together during a live concert at Bumrung Rawiwon Wittaya Elementary and Middle school, here recently.
According to Chief Warrant Officer 2 Forest Brown, the III MEF band officer, the performance was part of a cultural community relations event that allowed the band members to work together and strengthen the brotherhood and bond between the Thai and American people.
The excitement began early as the band made their way to the stage and audience began their ovations.
The students were like fans at a rock concert as the musicians reached out to slap the sailing hands of their spectators.
For three hours, the audience jammed to the funky rifts of popular 70's tunes such
as "Brick House" and "Soul Man." A few of the Marines took their performance off the stage to interact with the children, singing along to the music and hyping up the crowd.
The band commanded the crowd's attention and kept them cheering with their performance.
"The response was better than I expected," said Cpl. Bradley Schwartz, a trumpet player and the lead singer during the band's performance. "You could tell the children really enjoyed it because they were very interactive with us and sometimes they were cheering louder than the music."
The music caught the attention of local passers by who couldn't resist catching a glimpse of the excitement. Soon they too were clapping their hands and getting into the groove.
After the musical performance, the school staff showered the Marines with cultural gifts and performed traditional dances in their honor.
When the show was over, children were lined up on the side of the stage to shake the hands of the Marines and get their autographs.
"I never thought I would be signing autographs," said Cpl. Ada Ingram, a French horn player, smiling. "It made me feel pretty cool and reminded me why I joined the Marine Corps in the first place; to make a difference in other people's lives."
Prior to the show, Ingram overheard members of the school faculty saying the students had been waiting to see the III MEF band perform for some time, Ingram added.
"The students have seen the Marines on television and were very excited to find out they were coming to perform here with our Air Force," said Chanida Lanburi, the school's principal. "We greatly appreciate their visit and they are heroes to our community, especially our children."
The rock show generated instant popularity among the students and the faculty.
"They are always welcome to come back and we hope they do," Lanburi said.
| Date Taken: | 07.31.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 08.05.2009 01:02 |
| Story ID: | 37153 |
| Location: | BANGKOK, TH |
| Web Views: | 172 |
| Downloads: | 109 |
This work, Royal Thai Air Force, III Marine Expeditionary Force bands perform for youth, by Cpl Antwain Graham, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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