Madison City Community Orchestra to honor D-Day’s 80th anniversary
MADISON – Madison City Community Orchestra or MCCO will devote its summer concert to the 80th anniversary of D-Day when allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, France.
The free concert on June 23 will start at 5 p.m. in the Christian Life Center at Madison Methodist Church, 127 Church St. “Narrators will depict the stories of four Congressional Medal of Honor recipients for their actions on that day,” MCCO Director Sandy Weisner said.
Choir members from Madison Methodist Church and Asbury Church will sing. On the last piece, “Hymn to the Fallen,” the choir will join MCCO to blend vocal and instrumental music.
Edward Lawrence will share his display of World War II memorabilia, like helmets, uniforms, medals and other pieces. “Ed is known for his passion for all things related to World War II,” Weisner said.
“We’ll play songs that represent most of our conflicts throughout our history — from ‘The Patriot,’ which represents the American Revolution, to our tribute to World War II with ‘Band of Brothers’ and ‘Hymn to the Fallen.’ We’ll pay tribute to all our Armed Forces through the ages,” Weisner said.
D-Day on June 6, 1944, assembled land, air and sea forces of allied armies for the largest amphibious invasion in military history. The invasion force included 7,000 crafts with more than 195,000 naval personnel from eight allied countries. Almost 133,000 troops from the United States, British Commonwealth and their allies landed, with casualties at 10,300. (eisenhowerlibrary.gov)
Retired military personnel will serve as narrators:
* Col. Charles ‘Doug’ Loughridge, U.S. Air Force – Raised in Fredericksburg, Va. After attending Hargrave Military Academy, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business management from Virginia Commonwealth University. He worked for 24 years as an Aircraft Maintenance officer.
Loughridge worked in Hawaii, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Guam, along with Louisiana, California, Nebraska and Alabama. He attended all Air Force Professional Military Education Schools. He and wife Judy have two adult children and six grandchildren.
* Col. Shawn Prickett, U.S. Army — Graduated from U.S. Military Academy and commissioned as Army Aviation officer in 1991. For 28 years, he served in staff and leadership positions, including brigade commander and Chief of Staff at Redstone Arsenal.
A West Virginia native, Prickett deployed to Bosnia, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Iraq and South Korea. He and wife Tonya have been married 33 years. They have two adult children.
* Col. Jeff Mockesturm, U.S. Army — Commissioned as second lieutenant in U.S. Army Ordnance Corps and entered active service at Redstone Arsenal in 1985. During his near-30-year career, Mockesturm was stationed in Korea and Germany, with assignments in Washington D.C., Huntsville and Fort Monmouth, N.J. He deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan several times.
The Mockensturm family relocated to training assignments at Fort Ord, Calif., Fort Leavenworth, Kan. and Austin, Texas. At Redstone Arsenal, he served as military deputy to Director of the Aviation and Missile Center and deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan as Science and Technology Advisor.
* Col. William E. Pohlmann, U.S. Army – After basic, advanced and jump training, he deployed to Germany in 1964. Pohlmann was accepted to U.S. Military Academy Preparatory School at Fort Belvoir, Va.
Pohlmann graduated from West Point and Ranger School. After training for rotary wing flight and maintenance test pilot, he deployed to Viet Nam. He served as Company Commander in Da Nang and transferred to Fort Gordon, Ga. As Instructor and Associate Professor, he taught electrical engineering at West Point.
This concert is free, but MCCO gladly welcomes any donations from guests.
For the Fourth of July, MCCO will perform at the MidCity District in Huntsville celebration at 9 p.m.
For more information, call 256-417-5672, email director@mccorchestra.org or visit mccorchestra.org.
