St. Augustine marches into history

By Fritz Esker
Contributing Writer

The St. Augustine High School Marching 100 traveled across the Atlantic Ocean last week to take part in commemorations honoring the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.

The celebrations honor the D-Day invasion that marked a crucial turning point in World War II. This event will likely be the last anniversary celebration attended by surviving veterans of the invasion. And 112 members of St. Augustine’s band plus one French-speaking student ambassador will be there for it.

The St. Augustine contingent left New Orleans on June 3 for their week-long trip, and were scheduled to play four performances: three in Normandy and one in Paris. The Normandy performances included one at the Le Concerat de Liberat in Sainte Mere Eglise, one at the Normandy American Cemetery, and one in the D-Day Memorial Parade; with the final performance taking place at the Jardin D’Acclimetation in Paris.

These performances marked the first time the Marching 100 have performed overseas. The band previously traveled to play in Canada in 2017.

The students and chaperones also got to visit the beaches in Normandy as well as world-famous sites in Paris like the Eiffel Tower and the Notre Dame Cathedral. Current band members and those who just graduated were eligible to participate provided they met academic and behavioral standards.

St. Augustine Class of 1983 (and Marching 100) alumnus Donald Francisco first brought the opportunity to the attention of Ray Johnson, St. Augustine’s director of bands. Johnson then worked with school administrators to carefully craft an application. Once the application was accepted, alumni and friends of the St. Augustine community generously donated money to fund the trip. A significant percentage of the funds came from the Floyd family, major benefactors of the World War II Museum. More than $700,000 was raised.

Mel Cordier, director of marketing and communications for St. Augustine, accompanied the students on the trip. He said the students are not just ambassadors for the school, they are also ambassadors for their families.

Some of the students had never flown before they boarded the plane to Paris. Others became the first in their immediate families to fly on a plane.

“They probably do not realize yet they are etching their names not only in St. Augustine’s Marching 100 history but also in United States history as well. Very few U.S. band programs get to do this,” Cordier said.

Cordier, a Marching 100 alumnus, remembered the impact that trips to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and Pasadena, California, had on him when he was a student. He is excited that these students are getting such an opportunity.

“Those life experience opened my eyes and let me and my classmates know the world was our oyster,” Cordier said. “That’s what we want for our young men. Hopefully, it exposes them to a much broader world. Maybe one of them will be the next Donald Francisco opening up new opportunities for the next generation of the Marching 100.”

This article originally published in the June 10, 2024 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.