U.S. Air Force Band of the Pacific History History The Band of the Pacific is the oldest military unit continuously on active duty in Alaska. It provides popular, ceremonial, and patriotic music in support of military and civic activities in the states of Alaska and Hawaii and throughout Western Canada. The band also performs concerts and conducts musical workshops at local schools in support of education and recruiting efforts. How the Band Was Started The Air Force's involvement in Alaska's music began in the summer of 1941, when a group of Army Air Force members formed an unofficial orchestra as a hobby. One of this group's first performances was in September 1941, when the men furnished music for the first annual Matanuska Valley Fair at Palmer, Alaska. The band also played for three community dances at Palmer and an assortment of dances and benefit balls in Anchorage. The Official History Spans a Period of Over Five Decades Originally designated the 452nd Army Air Forces Band on April 15, 1943, the unit was activated ten days later at Wright-Patterson Field in Dayton, Ohio. After that initial duty, the band was redesignated the 752nd U.S. Army Band and then the 752nd Army Air Force Band before being inactivated at Wright-Patterson on November 30, 1944. A Separate Branch of Service The Air Force became a separate branch of service on September 17, 1947. The band was redesignated the 752nd Air Force Band and was activated four months later on December 15, 1947 at Fort Richardson, Alaska. The unit was part of a realignment of Alaskan military forces under the first unified command of Department of Defense, the Alaskan Command. Before that date, military music in Alaska was provided by three U.S. Army bands, one being the 494th. Its musicians were given the opportunity of finishing their Alaskan assignments while assigned to the new Air Force Band either as members of the Air Force or as Army personnel on detached duty. Other Air Force Bands in Alaska With the realignment of Alaskan military bands to the control of the Air Force, two other Alaskan Air Command bands were established; one in Fairbanks and the other at Adak Island. The 753rd Air Force Band at Ladd AFB was deactivated on July 1, 1949 and on July 1, 1959, the 754th Air Force Band at Davis AFB on Adak Island was deactivated. The Band This Decade The Alaskan Air Command was redesignated as 11th Air Force effective August 9, 1990, and the band was renamed the Air Force Band of Alaska. Following the 1991 restructuring of the Air Force band career field, the Air Force Band of Alaska became the Air Force Band of the Pacific, and on August 1, 1994, the name was changed to Band of the Pacific. It is a 72 piece band with 30 personnel stationed at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, 30 personnel stationed at Yokota, Japan, and 12 personnel stationed at Hickam AFB, Hickam. Band Performance Highlights The band was chosen to play in President Kennedy's Inauguration Parade, President Nixon's two stop-overs enroute to China, President Reagan's stop-over while enroute to China, President Bush's stop-over enroute to Japan, and for both of President Clinton's visits to Alaska. The band performed for the Emperor of Japan during his 1971 visit to Alaska, and for Pope John Paul II when he visited Anchorage in 1981. The band's musicians were also chosen by Bob Hope to provide backup music for his USO Entertainment Troupe during its tours of Eielson AFB and Fort Wainwright during the Vietnam War. The Only Air Force Musical Unit in Alaska Its record of achievements is attested by the nine Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards it has received through its half century of musical and military history.