Pearl Harbor, a day that “will live in infamy,” famously said by former President Franklin D. Roosevelt, is commemorated every Dec. 7, and Ryle High School was one of the few bands selected nationwide to participate in the national memorial parade.
On Dec. 7, 1941, 2,402 Americans died and 1,178 Americans were wounded as a result of the attack on the U.S. Naval base in Pearl Harbor, located in Honolulu, Hawaii. The surprise attack from the Japanese army resulted in President Roosevelt asking Congress for a declaration of war and the United States formally joined the Allied nations in World War II.
Just 14 high school and college bands across the country performed in the Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade, which is set in Hawaii.
Ryle sent 120 members from the band to Hawaii to perform three songs with local Navy and Marine Corps bands. The band practiced and fundraised for two years for the opportunity, according to Boone County Schools.