{"id":49796,"date":"2023-11-02T16:04:06","date_gmt":"2023-11-02T21:04:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/?p=49796"},"modified":"2023-11-02T16:04:24","modified_gmt":"2023-11-02T21:04:24","slug":"tarleton-alumnus-named-to-elite-us-army-band","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/tarleton-alumnus-named-to-elite-us-army-band\/","title":{"rendered":"Tarleton Alumnus Named to Elite US Army Band"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

STEPHENVILLE, Texas \u2014 Tarleton State University alumnus Akira Okamoto has earned a position with the U.S. Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, headquartered in the Washington, D.C., area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"whitehouse
Tarleton State University alumnus Akira Okamoto has been selected for the elite U.S. Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A Frisco native, Sgt. Okamoto graduated with a bachelor\u2019s degree in trumpet performance. He is serving with the 3rd<\/sup>Infantry Division Band. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are so proud of our graduates who are not only successful but who represent us at the highest level on a larger stage,\u201d said Dr. Vicky Johnson, head of the Tarleton State Department of Performing Arts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps carries on traditions that accompanied the birth of the United States. It has inspired audiences throughout the nation and around the world for over 60 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is the premier military band position,\u201d said Dr. Brian Walker, Tarleton trumpet Professor<\/a>. \u201cIt is the top tier in that field and has special designations afforded to that. It would be like winning the New York or Chicago symphony of military bands.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps <\/a>is the only unit of its kind in the armed forces and is part of the 3rd Infantry Regiment (the Old Guard). It averages 500 performances annually. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has entertained millions of people in parades, pageants and historical celebrations throughout the United States and has served America as a goodwill ambassador around the world. It has performed at major sporting events, including NCAA bowl games, NBA games, NFL games including Super Bowl XVI, the Kentucky Derby, the Indianapolis 500 and the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y.The Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps performs for all arrival ceremonies at the White House for foreign heads of state and has participated in every inauguration parade since President John F. Kennedy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

STEPHENVILLE, Texas \u2014 Tarleton State University alumnus Akira Okamoto has earned a position with the U.S. Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, headquartered in the Washington, D.C., area.  A …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":49797,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","wds_primary_category":382,"footnotes":""},"categories":[382,423,425],"tags":[432,440,453],"class_list":["post-49796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homepage","category-academics-research","category-campus-community","tag-alumni","tag-college-of-liberal-fine-arts","tag-performing-fine-arts"],"acf":{"image":false},"author_meta":{"display_name":"priddle","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/author\/priddle-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2023\/11\/whitehouse-300x204.jpeg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["_Homepage<\/a>","Academics & Research<\/a>","Campus & Community<\/a>"],"unlinked":["_Homepage<\/span>","Academics & Research<\/span>","Campus & Community<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["Alumni<\/a>","College of Liberal & Fine Arts<\/a>","Performing & Fine Arts<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Alumni<\/span>","College of Liberal & Fine Arts<\/span>","Performing & Fine Arts<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":0,"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 2 years ago","modified":"Updated 2 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on November 2, 2023","modified":"Updated on November 2, 2023"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on November 2, 2023 4:04 pm","modified":"Updated on November 2, 2023 4:04 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"Marching band in red uniforms performs on the White House lawn.","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/54"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49796\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}