U.S. Army 28th Infantry Division Band to perform in Hempfield

The United States Army 28th Infantry Division Band is slated to play at Hempfield Park next week.

The free performance will be at 7 p.m. June 28 at Hempfield Park’s amphitheater. Food and drink will be available for purchase.

The 40 part-time citizen soldier band is based in Torrance in Derry Township and is under the command of Chief Warrant Officer II Aaron Burkle.

As the oldest music performance group in Pennsylvania with a history of uninterrupted service, the band was organized as part of the 28th Division Headquarters Company, according to a news release. During World War II, the division earned distinction in defense of Wiltz, Luxembourg, during the Battle of the Bulge in late 1944. It’s decorations include the Meritorious Unit Commendation and the Luxembourg Croix De Guerre, the Luxembourg war cross recognizing military service.

The band received its official title in 1945. Since then, the 28th Infantry Division Band has performed for former presidents Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan, at the Miss America Pageant parade in Atlantic City, N.J., and in Columbus, Ohio, in celebration of the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ voyage in 1492, when he discovered the Americas for Europe.

The band has also played across the world, including in 1988 when they were invited by the French government to perform at memorial services on the 70th anniversary of armistice signing that ended World War I. It also performed in 1990 at services commemorating the 100th anniversary of Dwight D. Eisenhower’s birth, the supreme Allied commander in World War II.