One section of a thirteen piece African American military band at the Abeline, Texas, Air Force Base in 1944

Gift of Maxwell Garret
Description: 

Photograph. One section of a thirteen piece African American military band including upright bass, drums and piano. Lead performer in suit and top hat. 66th M.T.B. emblem on music stands. Stamped on photo reverse:“"Official photograph, Base Photo Section, Army Air Field, Abilene, Texas."” [1944]

Image Information

Accession Number: 
Date: 
1944
Location: 
Hometown: 
Branch: 
Theater of Service: 
Unit: 
Campaign / Event: 
POW / KIA: 
Collection Level: 
Photographs from the service of service of Captain Maxwell Garret, who was an Information and Education Officer in the United States Army Air Force. Maxwell “Mac” Robert Garret (né Goldstein) was born on 18 April 1917 in New York, New York, to Russian Jewish immigrants, Harry and Esther Goldstein. Garret’s family moved to the Bronx and he graduated from the Bronx Jewish Center in 1930 and then Townsend Harris High School in 1934. He attended City College of New York from 1934-1939 and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Education, specializing in Physical Education. During his time at City College, Garret was a varsity fencer, and in 1940 he was a candidate for the United States Olympic Foil team but was not able to attend when the United States withdrew from the games. Instead, Garret became the fencing coach at University of Illinois, but left on 28 March 1942 when he enlisted in the military. He was assigned to the United States Army Air Force and graduated from Officers Candidate School in 1943. During his service, Garret was an Information and Education Officer and in charge of creating variety shows in order to sell large war bonds. He never left the United States to serve overseas, and in 1946 he was honorably discharged at the rank of Captain; however, he continued to serve in the Reserves and retired at the rank of Major. Garret continued his career as a fencing coach and had many accomplishments throughout the over 40 years he was in the field. Garret retired as a coach in 1982 but continued to contribute to the sport of fencing until his death on 10 April 2013 in Boynton Beach, Florida. Some of his major accomplishments include developing the first U.S. Paralympics fencing team, developing the Garret Total Body Reaction Timer, serving as the Director of the Academy for Fencing Teachers in Israel as well as the National Coach for the State of Israel, leading the University of Illinois along with Penn State University to national championships, and serving as the Chairman for the USFA Veteran Fencing Program.
Geography: 
Abilene
Latitude: 
32.433
Longitude: 
-99.717
Thesaurus for Graphic Materials: 
Military bands--American--Texas