I will forever grateful to this Marine Corps Leader and Legend Col. Crawford for giving me the opportunity to play Marching Xylophone in the Commandant's Own. As an award winning arranger in not only the Marine Drum Corps, but also Col. Crawford was one of the Very Best arrangers in the Civilian Drum Corps as well, Col. Crawford always marched abreast with the latest New trends in the Drum Corps World. That's why he decided in 1975 to Add the Marching Xylophone and Bells to the USMC D&B Drum Line. This was at that time quite and innovation, as the D&B Drum like had been Drums Only for more than FORTY Years since its inception in 1934. Thanks to Col. Crawford's faith in my abilities, I was an active participant as a Xylophone player in what was at the time really still in an Experiment phase. In all honesty the Marine Barracks Brass were probably a bit skeptical after Decades of Drums only, someone even remarking that the Mallet Percussion looked like "Marching BBQ Grills". These comments never deterred Col. Crawford whose musical Instincts and above all Experience proved the addition of Marching Keyboard Percussion to be a positive and progressive addition to the Commandant's Own, the United States MarineDrum and Bugle Corps. Col. Crawford no doubt Continues to March On, at the Heavenly Gates that are Eternally Guarded by US Marines.
There will never be another Truman Crawford. All of his Marine's loved him and he treated them like his own family. Rest in peace in honored glory at Arlington.
I was fortunate enough to have met Truman a couple of times when I worked with Bands of America. He was a true gentleman that treated everyone with the utmost respect - even the SWAG Team ( a bunch of college kids at that time). And Larry is a person friend of ours - both of these men are class acts from the word go.
COL Crawford brought a lot of his music to the Yankee Rebels Alumni Drum and Bugle Corps. He was the drum major of the Yankee Rebels competing corps when they won the 1969, 1970 and 1971 American Legion National titles.
