Stories and Pictures
Feb 2004: This is Mr. Lynn Lubell. He was a member of
Toledo Troop 37 in the early 40's. He was also a member of the Troop's
drum and bugle corp. He was brought in to talk to Sylvania (Ohio) pack 154
about his days as a Boy Scout, Eagle Scout, and as bugler in the U.S. Navy
during World War II. The picture shows him holding a bugle (Cadet
Model) for the first time in 60 years. He plans to practice on it so he
can play TAPS at the annual reunion of ship mates.
(Which they since did)
In the Drum and Bugle Corp they performed on a regular basis, playing for the first time Irving Berlin's "God Bless America." The royalties for that song still goes to the Boy Scouts! He also pointed out how tough it was for scouts in those depression era days. They were required to have 3 uniforms, and if a patch was on wrong it might be ripped off, even requiring the purchase of another uniform! (Not easy in those days) They were inspected much as would be done in the military, thus, as he pointed out, making military life much easier! Mr. Lubell earned his Eagle Scout which was a tough accomplishment. Only 1 in 25 scouts of those days made it all the way through.
In 1944 Mr. Lubell went to enlist in the Navy. His recruiter asked him what type of organization he belong he told them about Troop 375's Drum and Bugle Corp. "Did you play drums or bugle?" "Bugle" "Well you're going to Rhode Island to Navy Bugler school." Playing the bugle probably saved his life. His other destination would of been piloting high risk landing crafts in Normandy, but instead he was on a large destroyer (which still saw quite a bit of action).
As a Navy Bugler he was required to play 120 tunes. There were four buglers aboard (3 Navy and one Marine). One of them was on duty 24/7. Despite the public address system, the bugle was considered a highly reliable devise for communication, especially during a power failure.
This assumes that the bugler doesn't get nervous. On Mr. Lubell's first watch, On the USS St. Paul he was called upon to play "Officer's Call" he instead played "Torpedo Defense Battery." Needless to say the Captain was less then happy. He got thrown off the deck and put in the bottom decks shoveling trash. They wouldn't even allow him on deck for the trip through the Panama Canal! This ship was later used in the John Wayne Movie "In Harm's Way." When you watch that movie you'll see the bugler playing INTO THE PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEM. Seaman Lubell was thrown off the ship when it arrived in Pearl Harbor being assigned to the USS Birmingham. He was involved in 16 battles during his War years.
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