FRANKFORT, Ky. –
Five Soldiers assigned to the Kentucky Army National Guard’s 202nd Army Band performed at the Kentucky State Capitol rotunda in Frankfort, Kentucky, on June 10th, 2023.
Soldiers of the 202nd Army Band provided music for the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Women’s Armed Services Act. The 202nd supported the community by performing a variety of music prior to the ceremony and after its completion.
The law, signed in 1948 by President Harry Truman, enabled women to serve as permanent, regular members of the armed forces in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force.
“The band being here is very important because women and male veterans like to know that the band is playing their songs,” said Phyllis Abbott, founder and executive director of the Lady Veterans Connect organization. “It’s patriotic music that supports and honors them.”
The band’s instruments consisted of a bassoon, two clarinets, a flute, and a french horn, all of which are woodwind instruments.
“We have the unique opportunity to be a public face for the Kentucky National Guard because when we perform at community events, we get to represent the entire Kentucky National Guard,” said Staff Sgt. Michael Embury, a musician assigned to the 202nd Army Band. “We are what people imagine and think of when they think of the National Guard.”
As of 2021, 21% of Soldiers that made up the Army National Guard were women.
“This event has some deep historical roots and has brought us to where we are today as the Kentucky National Guard and the overall military,” said Embury.