Dr. Jill M. Sullivan | INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC EDUCATION
Lieutenant Martha Reddick, Conductor
Click to hear a SPAR radio broadcast from 1944
Parade in Honor of Admiral Nimitz
October 1945, Washington D.C.
"A History of the Coast Guard SPAR Band" Joanna Ross Hersey & Jill Sullivan (in press 2008 Journal of Historical Research in Music Education)
This study investigated an all-female U.S. military band that was created to serve female soldiers at the Coast Guard Training Station in Palm Beach, Florida during World War II. Focus was on the band's membership and its responsibilities for the duration of the war. Primary sources used were interviews, letters, an autobiography, concert programs, a radio transcript, one recording, photographs, e-mail correspondence, newspaper articles, and miscellaneous personal artifacts. Findings revealed that this women’s band was unique in that its members were given musician's ratings and they were the only women’s band during the war to perform a weekly national radio broadcast. Band members reported that prior to the war their performance experience was solely from school bands. Their military band service was the highlight of their lives and after the war it opened doors to other performance opportunities. This research fills gaps in music, women's, and general American histories.
