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From: Maureen Edmisten daughter of Orville Edmisten
Validation: yhctskw
Date: 26 Oct 2005
Time: 03:16:30
Hello to all who are interested in the history of the USS West Virginia. My dad Orville Edmisten was a member of the West Virginia Band fron June of 1941 until the end of WWII. He and several of his band mates who kept intouch all of their lives told me that on the night of Dec.6th 1941 dad was invited to be the lead horn man with the USS Arizona Band at the battle of the bands. The West Virginia Band did not compete in the competition...I don't know why. The Arizona Band won the competition that night. After the competition all of the instruments were returned to the Arizona in a large trailer to be loaded onboard. That evening Dad went to the Arizona and asked for his instruments he was told he would have to return the next morning to get them ofcourse we know what happened that morning. The Captain of the Arizona gave the band members permission to sleep in that Sunday morning as a reward for winning the Battle of the Bands the night before. They were all killed in the attack. My dad was the only member who played with the winning band to survive the attack on Pearl Harbor...although he was a guest player he knew and respected all the wonderful musicians in the USS Arizona Band. Dad took many pictures of the band members and I know he was friends with your dad. If you are interested in pictures let me know. Litleredykilawat@aol.com