234 Army Band to Give Free Concert in Salem

The 234 is lead by Unit Commander/Bandmaster Chief Warrant Officer James Powell of Oregon City and First Sergeant James Langford of Salem.

The historic 234 Army Band in action Photo courtesy: mil.state.or.us

(SALEM) - "Oregon's Own" 234 Army Band will perform a free concert at Salem's Historic Elsinore Theatre, located at 170 High St SE, on Sunday July 16th at 3:00 PM. The Salem concert is the first in a series of 10 performed as a tribute to Oregon Communities for their support of the Oregon Army and Air National Guard. The series will be performed over the next three summers in several communities throughout Oregon and will feature music that runs gamut of musical genres from Marches, Classic Concert Band, Big Band Jazz and Rock & Roll. The 234 Army Band is located on Portland's National Guard Air Base drawing its unit members from communities throughout Oregon and Washington. Originally organized in 1919, the 234 Army Band was inducted into Federal Service in September 1940 in Portland. The unit saw WWII service in the South Pacific and received campaign participation credit for the Luzon, New Guinea and the Southern Philippines campaigns. The 234th also received the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for service from October 1944 to July 1945. The band has a proud tradition of excellence and from 1989-1998 was the recipient of the Superior Unit Citation for 10 consecutive years, being the only unit of the Oregon National Guard to hold this honor.