BAND OF BROTHERS

PALMER — “There,” said Zoe Woyce, 6, pointing to a photo on Swanson Elementary School’s Wall of Honor. “That’s my dad. He’s going to the desert again for six months. It’s not the desert where he was before, though.”

That snapshot of Zoe and her dad, Brian Woyce, is one of several displayed at the school to honor the soldiers who are the mothers, fathers, brothers or sisters of Swanson’s kindergarten through second-grade students.

Total, more than 20 families at the school know what it’s like to have a loved one deployed for months at a time, said kindergarten teacher Tara Johnson, who was acting principal for the day.

Monday was a special day for the 445 students and the staff at Swanson Elementary because Alaska Brass, a portion of the larger U.S. Air Force Band of the Pacific, performed at a school-wide assembly to honor their fellow service members in uniform and to help celebrate Red Ribbon Week.

Students entered the gym single-file and took their seats cross-legged on the floor, a sea of Alaska’s future leaders. There were spiky haired students with gelled hair. Students with flashing, light-up shoes and one carrying a “Golden Racket” took their seats on the floor and waited for the music to begin.

Johnson opened the assembly by asking all the students with a family member serving in the military to stand while the rest of the audience applauded.

John Rider with Alaska Brass said he’s pleased to be invited to perform in Valley schools this year as part of Red Robbin Week. He said it’s the first time the Valley has been included in these annual drug-prevention performances.

“We live out here. I have kids in three local schools,” said the soldier and musician.

Rider said the group will visit 10 schools in the next two weeks in an effort to encourage students to live drug free. He told students he and the other members of Alaska Brass have to be drug free to perform music.

Next, he picked a student from the crowd and asked the boy to join him at the microphone.

“What do you do if a stranger offers you something really bad on the playground? What would you say?” Rider asked.

“No,” Riley Reynosa-Davis said into the microphone.

“That’s right,” Rider said. “Then be sure to follow up by telling a trusted adult.”

Between songs, Alaska Brass musicians took turns telling students about the instruments they brought along to the performance — French horn, trumpet, tuba, trombone, drums and a xylophone.

Students moved to the beat while the band played kid-friendly favorites like the theme from the Harry Potter movies, a piece from “Toy Story” and another from the movie “Jurassic Park.”

After the performance, students who have family members serving in the military were invited to come on stage and visit with band members.

“Maybe you’ll want to be a musician someday,” the drummer told a shy pair of girls.

Contact Heather A. Resz at heather.resz@frontiersman.com or 352-2268.