Reilly Raiders Alum and Three Medal of
Honor Recipients honored at Alumni Show
by Fran Haring, DCW staff
Saturday, October 6, 2001 -- Beltsville, MD . . . Joseph Cicippio, a Reilly Raiders senior drum and bugle corps alumnus, was one of four Americans honored at "The Salute to America," an alumni drum corps show at High Point High School in the Washington, DC suburbs.
Shiite Muslims in Beirut abducted Cicippio in 1986 while he was serving as comptroller for American University in that city. He remained a captive for five years, never seeing daylight during that entire period. Cicippio marched with the Raiders in the 1950s, and said recalling his drum corps years helped him survive his ordeal as a hostage.
The Hawthorne Caballeros Alumni Corps performs at "The Salute to America" drum corps show (Photo by David Rice)
"Having the memories of that, and being able to, in your mind, do that whole drill every night in the dark. You know, then it's not dark anymore. The whole room lights up while you're on the kickoff line," Cicippio said.
Now Cicippio can see his corps in person again, and the Raiders turned in a stirring performance that must have brought a smile to his face. Reilly took the audience on an enjoyable musical trip to Ireland, and paid tribute to the USA with a medley of George M. Cohan tunes and an emotional treatment of The Lord's Prayer.
The American Originals snare line performs for the home crowd
(Photo by David Rice)
Drum corps fans applauded Cicippio and three Medal of Honor recipients. It was a wonderful night to celebrate patriotism and unity, honor America's heroes and be entertained by some of the nation's top alumni drum and bugle corps, with fife and drum corps and a pipe band added to the mix.
The American Originals Drum and Fife Corps hosted the event, and director John Bosworth said the show took on added meaning after the September 11 terrorist attacks.
The Old Guard Drum and Fife Corps performs in Beltsville
(photo by David Rice)
"We actually started the show out to be just a normal alumni drum corps show," Bosworth said. "And then, with what happened on the 11th, we decided to donate 100 percent of the profits to the Red Cross."
Subscribe to DCW to read about a New York Skyliner who was a hero during the September 11 attack in New York, and to see a review of all the corps that performed in Beltsville!
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