Retired Air Force Col. Arnald D. Gabriel, former 29th Infantry Division soldier

Retired Air Force Col. Arnald D. Gabriel, former 29th Infantry Division soldier and conductor emeritus of The U.S. Air Force Band, is named conductor emeritus of the 29th Division Band Virginia Army National Guard. Pictured from left to right: the Adjutant General of VaARNG, Maj. Gen. Timothy Williams, the 29th Division Band commander, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Don Carlson, retired Air Force Col. Arnald D. Gabriel, and 1st Sgt. David Helms, 29th Division Band. (VaARNG photo/released)

Gabriel Named Conductor Emeritus of the 29th Division Band

Published June 19, 2015
By Chief Warrant Officer 2 Don Carlson and Chief Master Sgt. Jenn Pagnard

Washington, D.C. -- Retired Air Force Col. Arnald D. Gabriel, former 29th Infantry Division soldier and conductor emeritus of The U.S. Air Force Band, was recently awarded the title of conductor emeritus of the 29th Division Band Virginia Army National Guard. This title was bestowed upon him by Maj. Gen. Timothy Williams, the Adjutant General of Virginia.

Gabriel was also a member of the 29th Infantry Division during the World War II D-Day invasion. Therefore, he was invited to be the guest conductor of the 29th Division Band for the D-Day 71 Ceremony at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia. He did not know that he was going to receive the new conductor emeritus title at the commemoration. He was quite emotional and at a loss for words when it was presented to him during the 60-minute concert.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Don Carlson, commander of the 29th Division Band, had the idea to bestow the title on Gabriel when he read a history of the 29th Infantry Division Band during World War II, and made a connection with a story that Gabriel had told him about the taking of the city of München-Gladbach during the war.

The 29th Division Band had been sent to entertain troops in München-Gladbach. The decision to send the ensemble was a bit premature, and they ended up being pinned down by the Nazis. It became necessary to send the 29th Infantry Division in to rescue the band and take München-Gladbach. Staff Sgt. Gabriel, a machine gunner with the 29th Infantry Division, was a part of that mission.

Gabriel also told Carlson that he had asked if he could join the band during the war. However, he was told that he had not earned enough points and that the band members had enough points to go home soon. If he were allowed to join the band at that time, he would have been reassigned to another unit when the band went home. This story was the inspiration for Carlson to right that wrong.

So, on June 6, 2015, in front of an audience of several hundred people at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia, retired Air Force Col. Arnald D. Gabriel became the first conductor emeritus of the 29th Division Band.