COUNTYWIDE : Marines Offer Sound and Silence
The U.S. Marine Drum and Bugle Corps and the Silent Drill Team performed two battle color ceremonies Monday for guests at the El Toro and Tustin Marine Corps air stations.
About 500 people attended the morning ceremony at the Tustin base, held inside one of the hangars because of the rain.
The Marine band and drill team perform together about 400 times each year, logging more than 50,000 miles as they visit sites across the country.
The Drum and Bugle Corps played selections ranging from “The Star-Spangled Banner” to music from the Disney movie “Beauty and the Beast.”
The band members, wearing white pants and red tunics, march in a weaving pattern while playing, creating human patterns to the music.
The drill team performed an 11-minute series of movements, mostly silent except for the clacking of their hand-polished, 10-pound M-1 rifles with fixed bayonets. The routine concluded with a mock weapon inspection, with the Marines spinning and tossing their rifles through the air.
Members of both teams are regularly trained Marines. But before being accepted in the Drum and Bugle Corps, members must pass a demanding audition.
Members of the Silent Drill Team are selected from the Schools of Infantry at Camp Pendleton and Camp Lejeune, N.C. Once selected, they serve two-year terms with the team.
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