So off I go to Google…keyword: WASHINGTON POST. Page one search results were variations on a
theme. Shheesh…all I want is the URL to the Washington post newspaper. Instead, all roads [variations
on the theme] lead to The Washington Post March, by John Phillip Sousa.
I Give Up!!!
Eventually, I located the post’s URL via trial and error [WashingtonPost.Com
]. But I began toAlthough I am a [biased] Army Band veteran, it is noteworthy to point out that Sousa was a
Marine. Enlisting as a Marine Bandsman in 1868 and ETSing in 1875, Sousa eventually returned to the
Marines as a Band Director [Officer]. On the outbreak of World War I, Sousa was commissioned as a
Lieutenant Commander and led the Naval Reserve Band in Illinois. Following his tenure there, Sousa
returned to conduct the Sousa Band until his death in 1932 [John Phillip Sousa – Wikipedia].
The really cool part of my non-inebriated stumbling-uponing, is finding that Pershing’s Own has a free
online music jukebox and published a pdf downloadable eBook, Marches Of America . Reading along (page two) within the eBook, I discovered that the Washington Post March
was written in 1889 for an awards ceremony honoring the winners of a newspaper [Washington Post?]
essay contest. Yet, without question, Sousa’s most famous march composition was the Stars and Stripes Forever.
The next time you are searching for information, as was I, remember this. You may not find what you
want…but may indeed find what you need. Admittedly, I needed to “stumble upon” the Washington Post
(March). After all, this [former] Soldier-Musician learned to appreciate Sousa as more than a
musician/composer…he was a Marine! [Semper Fi [delis]; Always Faithful…The Few]
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