The Prospect Marching Knights have played military marches for years in the Memorial Day parades in Arlington Heights and Mount Prospect, but this week they played those same marches in the nation’s capital for a Veterans Day salute.
Prospect band students perform for veterans at the World War II Memorial.
After months of fundraising, band students and their director, Chris Barnum, took Washington DC by storm. They played concerts at the Lincoln Memorial, the World War II Memorial and the Marine Corps War Memorial, which features a monument to the flag raising on Iwo Jima.
During their three-day trip, students had the chance to visit Arlington National Cemetery, as well as the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial, which they learned contains the name of a Prospect alumnus on it.
Yet, before they left, these band students heard an eyewitness account of seeing action in Vietnam, from one of the band’s biggest fans, District 214 board member Bill Dussling. He served as an Army helicopter pilot in Vietnam and through his stories and firsthand account, he brought to life a vivid portrayal of what it meant to serve.
District 214 board member Bill Dussling addresses band students.
As a helicopter pilot, Dussling flew missions out of Pleiku, with the main focus of supporting operations in the central highlands of Vietnam. But he also flew during the Tet Offensive in 1968, which was a major military campaign in which the U.S. and South Vietnamese forces were able to fight off the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong.
Dussling explained to students that he had been in the ROTC program in college. His father and uncles had served in World War II and he wanted to serve.
“I am proud that I was able to provide service,” he said. “But I flew so many missions and so many hours. It was 60 years ago, but I still recall what happened.” 
Dussling always enjoys Veterans Day and on Tuesday he spoke to students at Hersey High School as well, during a Veterans Day celebration.
“It means a lot to be recognized and just tell other what it means to serve,” Dussling says. “Bottom line, we all have a responsibility to serve.”
Prospect band students are riding high this semester, having ended their competition season last month as Illinois State Class 5A Champions. The Marching Knights won captions for Outstanding Music, Visual, and General Effect.
Yet, their performances in Washington, playing for the nation’s veterans, will stay with them long after their competitions end. In fact, this educational trip seems to validate the band program’s core values, which include a pursuit of excellence, pride in performance and building connections. Bottom line, the band program aims to develop a lifelong appreciation for music that will support students later in life.
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