Songs of West Point: On Brave Old Army Team

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Army, army band, army football, band, Cadet, Football, marching band, Music, on brave old army team, United States Military Academy, USMA, West Point, West Point Band, West Point songs

On Brave Old Army Team, or as we here at the West Point Band lovingly call it, “OBOAT,” is one of the songs that is nearest and dearest to the Corps of Cadets here at West Point, but it didn’t exactly have an auspicious beginning. Though it’s now the academy’s official fight song and a rallying cry sung out by thousands of impassioned Army fans at every football game, in truth, the composer of OBOAT wasn’t originally too keen on writing it. Here’s the story:

The 1944-1945 West Point cheerleaders

The year was 1910. The place, West Point. A dashing young lieutenant by the name of Philip Egner had just begun a promising career as music teacher and band commander at the United States Military Academy. When approached by an even younger, even more dashing cadet cheerleader with lyrics for a new cheer, Lt.Egner was initially… unimpressed.

But one day, as he was walking back to his home quarters after a hard day’s work, inspiration struck! Music for the cadet’s lyrics had sprung into his head. Worried he’d forget the melody by the time he got home, Lt. Egner hurriedly jotted down the notes on his stiffly-starched shirt sleeve. Thank goodness for a nice assertive laundering!

Learn these lyrics and you can sing along at the next Army football game!

Not too long after the composition of OBOAT, the Army team rose to football dominance, losing fewer than 10 games total between 1944 and 1950 and winning three consecutive national championships. The success of the team caught the attention of the entire nation, and the strains of Lt. Egner’s composition could be heard all across the country. Even jazz legend Glenn Miller paid tribute to OBOAT by recording a big band version of the song. During this heyday of Army football, On Brave Old Army Team was deservingly granted a place among the most beloved college fight songs of all time.

The national championship-winning 1944 Army football team

Today, though the Black Knights may not have quite the same record they held in the ’40s, cadets and Army fans alike still use OBOAT to cheer their team on to victory. OBOAT is played many times throughout each and every Army football game — at the start of the game, after an Army touchdown, during the band’s pre-game marching show, and whenever the spirit of the moment takes over and calls the Corps to song.

Now, that’s the fearless Army way!

Make sure to catch the West Point Band performing On Brave Old Army Team this Saturday, October 15, as the Army team takes on Lafayette College! We’ll be performing our signature rendition of OBOAT at the pre-game football review (9:00 a.m. on The Plain at West Point) and throughout the big game (12:00 p.m. at West Point’s Michie Stadium). Join us and help cheer the Army team “on to the fray!”

If you liked learning a bit about OBOAT, stay tuned for a whole series of videos and blogs in the upcoming months about the songs of West Point!

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Driven to Serve: Performing at the New York International Auto Show

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america, Army, army band, band, Hellcats, Jeremy Gaynor, military band, military music, Music, New York City, New York International Auto Show, service, United States Military Academy, USMA, USMA Class of 1955, veterans, West Point, West Point Band, West Point Cadet, Wounded Warriors

 

It started simple: perform at the opening ceremonies for the New York International Auto Show, and quickly exceeded our expectations—not only are we performing the opening, but we’ll be hosting our own booth for the entire week! We’ve been busy preparing for this promising event, and we have lots in store.

The New York International Auto Show is the largest of its kind in North America with over a million people in live attendance each year, and is also one of the most comprehensively covered media events in the world, boasting 2.6 billion total media impressions for last year’s show. Of course we would want to be a part of one of the world’s greatest public shows, but what does an auto show have to do with military and community service? As it turns out, a lot.

The opening ceremonies will take place on Saturday, April 4 at 8:30 a.m. at the Javits Center in New York City. As a part of this ceremony, Toyota will donate a RAV4 as part of its Wounded Warriors program to Staff Sergeant Alfredo de los Santos, an Army veteran and Purple Heart recipient who survived an RPG attack on his humvee in Iraq two years ago. To officially open the show, the West Point Band, along with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, will lead a parade of vehicles, including the RAV4, through the Crystal Palace. Our own Staff Sergeant Jeremy Gaynor, who recently appeared on NBC’s The Voice, will be featured singing the National Anthem, and will then be available in our exhibit area to meet the public.

Master Sergeants MaryKay Messenger and Brian Broelmann will also perform at the opening and awards ceremonies for the National Automotive Technology Competition, a high school age competition with teams from 31 countries that culminates at the NYIAS.

We have lots to offer during the week as well. Our booth, located at northern concourse 2 near the main entrance, will be open throughout the duration of the show. If you’re around you will definitely want to check out Tune Up @ 2, a series of performances right at our booth each day at 2:00 p.m., featuring everything from bluegrass to rock, brass and string groups, and more.

And since this is an auto show after all, the USMA Class of 1955 Orange County Chopper will be on display in our area for the entire ten days, with Paul Senior himself stopping by on Saturday the 11^th for an interview.

The New York International Auto Show has everything the auto industry has to offer, and then some. We look forward to seeing you there!

May It Be Said, Well Done

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Alma Mater, Army, Army Athletics, army band, Basketball, marching band, Music, NIT Tournament, United States Military Academy, USMA, West Point, West Point Band, West Point Cadet, Women's Basketball

Chief Bettencourt leads the band during the Star Spangled Banner prior to the game.

On Thursday, March 19, the band headed down to St. John’s University in Queens to cheer on the Army Women’s Basketball team in the first round of the WNIT tournament. The band does not often play for basketball games, but for the second year in a row, the mighty Army Women’s team has qualified for a major tournament while the rest of the cadets are on spring break. That means that the cadet band is not around to perform for the game, so we take it upon ourselves to support our fellow Soldiers.

Sgt. Major Jones charges out of the rehearsal room to cheer Army on.

The game was a close matchup, with Army remaining within a few points of the St. John’s Red Storm the entire game. You can read a complete game wrap-up here. While the outcome of the game was a disappointing loss for all of the Army fans in attendance, (which there seemed to be more of than St. John’s fans, even though it was a home game for the Red Storm) it is what happened after the game that truly moved me.

Traditionally, after every Army sporting event we perform for, we play the Alma Mater, win or lose. I’m not sure if the women’s team was not used to it, or just wanted to get back to the locker room, but they left the court before we had a chance to play for them. Chief Bettencourt took the entire band down into the tunnel outside of the locker room to play the Alma Mater for the team.

We all stood, drawn up in a long line against one wall, while the team filed out of the locker room and stood at attention against the opposite wall, along with their coaches and other team personnel. They looked downcast, as if they had just lost an important, close, hard-fought game. For a time, it looked as if they would all rather be alone than stand facing us while we played for them. But, bringing dignity, hope, and esprit de corps to all situations is what military bands do best.

Chief Bettencourt leads the band in the West Point Alma Mater.

As we started the first tones of the music, immediately I could see the expressions on the player’s faces begin to change. At first a few sang, then a few more, finally all sang in full voice. You could see each cadet remembering that this game, win or lose, is only preparation for the true test they all will face one day after graduation from West Point. Cadets are part of something much larger than a basketball game, and we were able to bring a sense of perspective to the team, enabling them to look down the long gray line, and see what they were a part of.

The band performs the Alma Mater for the Women’s Basketball Team after their loss to St. John’s.

Words by Sgt. 1st Class Sam Kaestner
Images by Sgt. 1st Class Eric Garcia