Rodney Branch: Playing TAPS In Combat

By Frank Hauenschild, Honor Flight Chicago Veteran Interview Volunteer

“Growing up on the South Side of Chicago wasn’t all that bad, especially when your home was near the Salvation Army Resale Store and delivery dock,” Rodney A. Branch explained.  Rodney’s home was near 60th and LaSalle Street where he grew up with his parents, Shedrick and Theotis, and his siblings, Frederick, Phillip, Theotis and Steven.  Being so near to the Salvation Army loading docks, donation trucks would line up and park right in front of his house waiting to be unloaded.  “Being open trucks full of donated items, the neighborhood kids would rummage and get first pick of the items waiting to be unloaded,” Rodney recollected.  

One day, he heard a horn being played by one of the neighborhood children.  It wasn’t music, it was noise from a child in the area who, Rodney surmised, liberated the trumpet from one of the trucks waiting to be unloaded.  After a few days when the trumpeting subsided, Rodney, being interested in the instrument, approached the individual and asked if he would like to sell the trumpet.  The deal was struck and a firm price was agreed upon in the amount of $2.00. The problem that then existed was that Rodney did not have $2.00 to buy the trumpet.  Rodney, finally approached a person with a source of funds whom he thought would not turn him down. After explaining his interest in the trumpet, Rodney’s grandmother gave him the $2.00 and Rodney had his first trumpet!

Rodney wanted to play “music” and not to just make noise. His Uncle Bill, an accomplished trombone player, assisted Rodney to learn to play the trumpet. Furthering his quest in becoming a better player, Rodney took a few lessons at the Lyon & Healy building where he not only learned to play the horn, but also learned to read and play from a printed music sheet. Also adding to his proficiency, Rodney was enrolled in band classes and was part of the Englewood High School Band. Recalling his high school band year, Rodney related that “we would play at a lot of football games in the fall and also perform at college games and other events in the Chicago area.” It was a great experience for him as it allowed him to become a proficient trumpet player. 

Upon graduation, the war in Vietnam was intensifying. Rodney thought that he had better have a plan in place to avoid the general draft.  Having heard the elite Army Band play at Englewood High and being very impressed, he visited with the local Army recruiter. After explaining his love of playing his trumpet to the recruiter, the recruiter set him up with an audition with the Army Band which was located at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. 

On the day of the audition, besides the anxiety of playing solo before the whole Army Band, “Everyone forgot that someone was supposed to drive me to Fort Sheridan for the Audition!”  Rodney, being undaunted, grabbed his trumpet and traveled to Fort Sheridan by bus and train.  “I was shaking at the thought of auditioning before the Army Band” while on his trip to Fort Sheridan.  Rodney was relieved when he arrived and only one person was waiting in the rehearsal hall.  Rodney first was instructed to play the Major, Minor and Arpeggio scales, which he accomplished with ease.  Then came the time to see if Rodney could read music as well as he played the scales.  The music score placed in front of him was a song which he immediately recognized. Inside, Rodney was grinning at this request as he was not only familiar with the song, but had it memorized from playing it so often.  Rodney smiled and stated that he was “knocking it out!”  At the end of the audition, the auditioner recommended him to be sent to the School of Music at Little Creek in Virginia Beach, Virginia after completion of his Basic Training.

Completing his Basic Training at Fort Polk, he arrived at the School of Music as promised by his recruiter.  Rodney explained that the School of Music was a post where musicians from all military branches were sent to learn and play music.  “We practiced and rehearsed together and individually,” Rodney stated. “I would request a rehearsal room to practice and if the officer in charge did not hear music, he would be marching in and finding out why he wasn’t hearing music from my trumpet.”  Rodney related that he knew that if he flunked out of the School of Music, his next assignment would be in Vietnam.  

One day near completion of his training at the School of Music, Rodney and five other soldiers were ordered to the Commandant’s Office.  There they were informed that they were now graduates and were told to pack their bags.  They were leaving for a short leave and they were then ordered to report to the Redstone Arsenal with the 55th Army Band. Arriving home, Rodney visited with his grandmother, who gave him the $2.00 for his first trumpet.  Explaining his training and where he was assigned to, his grandmother smiled and said, “Do you realize where you are going? You are going to be about five miles away from your family in Alabama!”  Rodney then realized he was going to be near his extended family where he spent a lot of summer vacations when he was younger.  “It wasn’t really a vacation, they worked us in the cotton fields in the middle of summer in Alabama,” but Rodney was excited that he would be able to see his family. 

Rodney said life was pretty good at Redstone with the Army Band located there.  They would do their assigned work, then they would rehearse and practice music together.  He shared that a lot of band members lived off base and they would go home after the work day was over. “It was like a regular job there, and the band members were so accomplished that they would play gigs at local clubs and bars in the evenings and on weekends. It was a nice assignment until that day that I remember so well,” Rodney recalled.

While at Arsenal one day, he heard a commotion and his name being mentioned.  Another band member was running down the hall exclaiming “Branch, you have Orders, you’re going to the Nam!” The word was out even before Rodney was officially informed, but it was true – he received his Orders.

He was ordered to report as part of the 55th Army Band to the U.S. Army’s 1st Cavalry Division at An Khe Base in South Vietnam.  His new MOS was O2B20, a trumpet player.  After a short leave at home in Chicago, he boarded a jet and eventually landed at Cam Ranh Bay. “It was hot, 100 degrees hot, as soon as we deplaned.”  After a few days, he was sent to his new home base in Camp Evans, near the city of Hue.  

Camp Evans was a military base located northwest of Hue and approximately 21 miles south of the DMZ. “It was an air base, consisting of helicopters, planes and was an ammunition depot of munitions not only for our military, but also for captured NVA ammunition.”  Rodney recalled many mortar attacks while stationed there which required them taking cover in fortified bunkers, but he recalled one vicious attack.  “That attack lasted for hours, the rockets struck the ammunition depot which started a chain reaction of explosions,” Rodney recalled.  After the attack subsided, Rodney noticed that the air field was strewn with expended ammunition and also shells that were displaced onto the runways. A few of the troops, including Rodney, were ordered to clear the runway of the exploded shells and the unexploded ammunition.  “We had to pick-up unexploded howitzer shells that were so hot we had to use unfilled sandbags to lift the shells, like pot holders.”  Rodney, and the two others felt totally expendable.  “We would remove the ammo to the side of the runway and then the techs would come out and neutralize the shells.”    

As a trumpet player, Rodney would often be on a rotation call to play TAPS at various locations.  Often he would receive orders to jump on a chopper to be flown to a location where a soldier was killed in action.  He would travel with a close companion of his, Chaplain Samuel Hoard, who would conduct last rites of the soldier(s).  Rodney recalled one assignment where he and Chaplain Hoard flew to a location near the Perfume River and then traveled by jeep to the deceased’s location.  Following the Chaplain conducting the service and Rodney playing TAPS, they returned by jeep to the chopper.  While traveling near the Perfume River bank, they came under attack by the NVA across the river. Grabbing their M-16s and taking cover, they outlasted the attack.  Two things astonished Rodney during this firefight.  First, the holes in the ground and vehicles were large so he surmised that they were fired upon by 50 caliber weapons.  The second astonishment was Rodney seeing Chaplain Hoard with an M-16 in his hands.  “I knew then he wanted to go home also!”  No one was injured and they continued their journey back to the chopper and returned to Camp Evans. 

Besides being on rotation for playing TAPS or on other occasions that the 18 to 20 member band would play together, he was still an infantry soldier.  Rodney would serve his time in the guard tower watching for mortar attacks or military movement.  “The mortar attacks would come at any time, but the NVA usually attacked during the night,” Rodney recalled.  As soon as the attack started, the sirens would sound and we would take cover in the bunkers.  “Sometimes the scariest part would be in the bunkers.  We built them to take a direct hit, but we knew that if there was a solid direct hit, we could have been entombed in there from a cave-in of the collapsing sandbags,” Rodney stated, pausing to reflect on those times.

While at Camp Evans, Rodney, with some money to burn, bought his first 35mm camera at the PX on the base.  “I would buy the film for slides because I did not want to deal with prints,” Rodney explained.  He related that he would shoot a few rolls of film, put them in an envelope and ship them to the states for development. Two weeks later he would have his slides which he would view on his slide viewer. “I still have that camera and all of my slides because I was careful with them.  Monsoon season was terrible; I wrapped all of my slides and camera with heavy duty plastic to protect them from all the moisture,” Rodney shared. 

Rodney spent his whole tour of duty at Camp Evans, except for one 5-day R & R that he spent in Taipei, Taiwan.  Almost one year to the day, he received his orders to go home. He returned to the air base he arrived at a year before, then began his journey home.  He landed on home soil in San Francisco and then flew home to Chicago on leave.  Still having six more months of active duty to fulfill his enlistment, Rodney was assigned to Fort Lewis, Washington with the 21st Army Band.  “It reminded me of being back at the Redstone Arsenal, it was like a 9 to 5 job.”  From Fort Lewis, Rodney would travel where needed in the northwestern states to play TAPS at military funerals to complete his service to our country. 

Following his discharge, Rodney returned home to Chicago where he worked for 29 years at Commonwealth Edison. Shortly after returning home, he met Carolyn, whom he married.  Rodney and Carolyn will celebrate their 52nd Anniversary on July 25, 2022.  They have one son, and also have a grandson who is 17 years old.  They both proudly carry the name of “Rodney!”

Being retired, Rodney and Carolyn love to travel. They have been to Egypt, Germany, London, Cairo and have cruised the Nile together.  Rodney still likes to take photos and often views his vast collection of slides. 

Thank you, Rodney A. Branch, for your dedicated service to our country, especially honoring our military, living and deceased, with your music.  Enjoy your well-deserved day of honor with your fellow veterans!