JSU’s Marching Southerners to perform in France on D-Day anniversary
Jacksonville State University’s marching band, The Marching Southerners, has been formally invited to perform in Normandy, France, in June 2024 to help observe the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
“This will be an amazing experience for our students,” said Dr. Ken Bodiford, JSU director of bands. “We are honored to help salute the brave men and women who fought to liberate Western Europe and turn the tide of World War II.”
Band leadership told students on Tuesday that they had been chosen to represent the United States in the ceremonies organized by the D-Day Commemoration Committee.
They will perform along other ensembles, choirs and JROTC students across two public ceremonies honoring those laid to rest near the beaches of Normandy, on June 6 and 7, 2024, at St. James American Cemetery and the Normandy American Cemetery.
They also will participate in a parade on June 8 that will start in Sainte-Mere-Eglise, the first village liberated by American troops in the D-Day events.
The Marching Southerners were established in 1956 and are considered “the pride of Jacksonville State University.” The 500-member band, many studying to become band directors themselves, are known for extending “The Friendliest Campus in the South” on and off the field, wherever they may go.
The Southerners have been invited to perform all over the world, most recently in 2019 for the World Peace Day Parade at the Vatican. The band also performed in 2016 near the USS Arizona Memorial to recognize the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, and in 2012 in London, leading a parade celebrating Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee.
JSU in December became the smallest university to win the prestigious Sudler Trophy, recognized as the highest honor given to college marching bands, from the John Phillip Sousa Foundation.
To learn more about The Marching Southerners, visit their website at www.marchingsoutherners.org.
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: JSU’s Marching Southerners to perform in France on D-Day anniversary
