Featured Groups... Scheduled to appear
A selection of the many prominent and entertaining groups are highlighted here as commitments are confirmed. The Parade features military units and military marching bands from throughout the nation, scout troops, civic organizations, and veterans groups. About 100 units will participate – displaying patriotic themes.
Commitments to appear made by any military unit may be subject to change based on contingencies affecting the service of which they are a part.
United States Air Force Honor Guard and Drill Team
The USAF Honor Guard is the premier drill and ceremonial unit of the United States Air Force. It’s one of the Air Force's oldest organizations. Their primary mission is to provide military honors at Arlington National Cemetery, and they also support many high profile ceremonies and events every year, including presidential and congressional events, retirements and promotions. 
Plus major sporting events, and the Presidential Inauguration, the NYC Veteran's Day Parade, and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Airmen of every enlisted rank, and both company and field grade officers, volunteer and are competitively selected to serve in the Honor Guard, making the Honor Guard a high standard for discipline and military professionalism.
The Civil Air Patrol
Celebrating their 75th Anniversay —This all-volunteer U.S. Air Force auxiliary is the newest member of the Air Force’s Total Force, which consists of regular Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, along with Air Force retired military and civilian employees. CAP, in its Total Force role, operates a fleet of 550 aircraft and performs about 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center.
You can view the local website for the Fox Cities Composite Squadron – Civil Air Patrol here: http://foxcitiescap.org/
The Civil Air Patrol is credited by the AFRCC with saving an average of 78 lives annually. It’s 56,000 members nationwide also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. Its members additionally play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to more than 24,000 young people currently participating in the CAP cadet program. Visit http://www.capvolunteernow.com/ for information on volunteering.
2D Marine Aircraft Wing Band
THE 2D MARINE AWB travels more than 50,000 miles annually carrying on a long-standing tradition of excellence and service to both Corps and Country. With an authorized strength of one officer and 50 enlisted Marines, the ensemble promises an exciting, versatile performance that the entire family will enjoy. The band has an extensive repertoire — familiar marches, patriotic favorites, jazz, and popular contemporary music.
Living Marine Memorial - Iwo Jima
In the words of the Agerholm-Gross Detachment:
"Our mission is to keep alive a tradition – in an attempt to recapture the essence of a pivotal time in American history and to refocus some measure of thinking about patriotism, devotion to duty, and self-sacrifice.
"The original five Marines and one Navy Corpsman who raised our flag on the Island of Iwo Jima on February 23, 1945, set a standard for the entire world to see. The Agerholm-Gross Detachment is carrying on a tradition which started in 1946 and continues to this day. We are proud of our heritage, proud of America, and proud to be United States Marines."
Pioneer Drum & Bugle Corps
The Pioneer Drum & Bugle Corps & Color Guard is a World Class (formerly Division I) competitive junior drum and bugle corps. Based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Pioneer is a member corps of Drum Corps International (DCI), and was one of its founding members.
Pioneer traces its roots to the St. Patrick's (Catholic) parish of Milwaukee and its drum and bugle (D&B) corps, the Imperials of St. Patrick, founded in 1961. Pioneer became a regular competitor in the Midwest region during the remainder of the 1970s, and in 1978, the corps was one of the founding members of Drum Corps Midwest (DCM) which was to become the premier regional circuit in North America over the next quarter century.
The 484th Army Band of Milwaukee
...will perform in the 2016 Appleton Flag Day Parade. Army Bands provide music throughout the spectrum of military operations to instill in our soldiers the will to fight and win, foster the support of our citizens, and promote our national interests at home and abroad.
Antique, horse-drawn funeral coach
The horse-drawn funeral coach symbolizes the heroes lost in battle. One of the many faces of freedom lost due to their selflessness. Flag Day Parade appearance sponsors are Wichmann Funeral Home and Riverside Cemetery.
THE 1ST BRIGADE BAND makes history come alive by presenting period brass band music, performed on antique instruments. Attired in vintage uniforms and gowns, the Band's musicians, color guard, and costumed ladies take you back to the 1860's; to the turbulent era of the Civil War. It’s a nostalgic portrayal of the atmosphere of days gone by, with showmanship and historical anecdotes, blending sights and sounds of the period.
More than eighty volunteers, men and women, make up the 1st Brigade Band. Widely varied in age and occupation, they come from many communities, and share a common interest in their musical heritage. During a typical year, they will meet their audience more than forty times, in concerts, parades, military balls, and worship services.
The mellow sounds of the brass bands of the 1860's had been lost until the 1st Brigade Band, starting in 1964, began to locate and restore the dented and broken instruments and to retrieve and reconstruct the yellowed and torn music. Through their work you can now hear the music that Presidents Lincoln and Davis, Generals Lee and Grant, and their contemporaries heard.
The Americanos Alumni Association
Drum and Bugle Corps
Americanos traces its origins to post-World War I veterans' organizations. The local American Legion organization, then known as Johnston Blessman Post 38 of Appleton, sponsored the Americanos' first incarnation in 1936.
The corps, an all-male group called the Sons of the American Legion, presented a Spanish theme that year, and do so proudly to this day. Today The Americanos Alumni Association Drum and Bugle Corps are an all volunteer coed unit of Americanos alumni and Drum Corps supporters. For the Flag Day Parade members assemble from across the country.
©2016 Flag Day Parade Committee