The U.S.S. Arizona Band Trophy

While we all know about the U.S.S. Arizona, not many people know that the vessel was known for having one of the best music bands in the Navy.

The Formation of the Band

Prior to being deployed on the Arizona, the 21 members of the band were trained as a unit at the Navy School of Music and were considered to be one of the best in the 14th Naval District. On May 23, 1941, the group graduated and three days later, were on their way to the Pacific onboard U.S.S. Arizona.

Now it must be pointed out that back in the day, it was common for large capital ships like Arizona to have their own music bands onboard. Usually used for ceremonial duties, its members were regular members of the crew.

Competitions and Tragic Loss

It was also common for the bands from these ships to compete in competitions and Arizona was no different. In fact, the Arizona Band was actually taking part in one of these competitions in the days leading up to December 7th and had even reached the semi-finals. The finals were set to take place on December 20, where the band would be going up against the U.S.S. Tennessee’s and USS Pennsylvania’s for the Trophy. But it never happened.

On December 7th, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and the Arizona was lost, taking with her 1,117 members of her crew, including every single member of her ship’s band. The finals never happened, and instead, a vote was held to see who the sailors thought would have gotten first place.

A Posthumous Honor

The Arizona won. Not just because of the loss of its band, but because its band was already known as one of the best in the fleet. As a result, the Trophy was posthumously awarded to the Arizona’s band and was renamed the USS Arizona Trophy.

Today, the Trophy sits at the Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor and has the names of all the band members engraved on it. A nice little tribute for the best Navy Band in the Pacific.

~NC