Military Musicians Showcase Features The Washington Tattoo


Military musicians represent the best of their craft worldwide in music performance, production and education. Music has been intertwined with military service for centuries, from regimental duty calls on the battlefield to military funerals, Presidential Inaugurations to playing for deployed troops; music is a universal language of diplomacy demanding precision and compassion. Military musicians embody both, each with their own style and flair.

Wreaths Across America is proud to devote special programming on Wreaths Across America Radio that shares the incredible performances of our military musicians on Military Musicians Showcase every Monday evening.

In line with the age-old argument of which came first, the chicken or the egg, we feel confident enough to suggest that most military musicians were musicians first before joining the military. The reasons cited most often are a steady paycheck for a growing family and the opportunity to “see the world” while doing something you are passionate about. As you would expect from the military, however, the path to entry requires excellence and versatility, and the subsequent training shapes young musicians into tough and competent servicemen and women.

The CEO and President of the Washington Tattoo, J. Mark Reilly, retires this year as a Sergeant Major for the 3rd Infantry US Regiment, Old Guard’s Fife and Drum Corps. Still, there will be no retirement leisure for Mark as he and his colleagues build the nonprofit organization. They aim to create a “massive ecosystem for people worldwide to get plugged into music.”

As a boy, Mark was already “plugged into music.” Growing up in the Hudson Valley area of New York, fife and drum corps were big, and Mark took to drumming. At the time, he wasn’t sure why because his parents were not musicians, but they managed to get Mark involved with a music teacher with great connections. Before you knew it, Mark progressed quickly as a musician and was exposed to high-caliber performers. When he graduated high school, Mark’s Mother presented him with a gift that, in some ways, foretold his future. “She handed me a pair of old drumsticks and some pictures,” Mark revealed. “I thought they were from my drum teacher, but she said they belonged to my grandfather, her father. I remembered he was the grandfather who to taught me how to throw a baseball and how to fish, but that’s about all I knew of him. His name was William Donahue, and I know he served as a Tech Sergeant with the U.S. Army in the Pacific during World War II. As it turns out, before World War two, he was in an American Legion Drum and Bugle Corps out of the south Bronx. My mother handed me a photograph of him in his fatigues and another photo of him in a cadet-style uniform and a snare drum across his chest. I thought this was crazy; neither of my parent’s played music. There’s got to be something to this.”

Mark pursued college, completing degrees in music education and hoping to land a job as a Band Director, but when it came time for student loan repayment, Mark auditioned and joined the Army. “I never dreamed I’d have the opportunity to play with a group like The Old Guard.” The rest, as they say, is history, and he has performed worldwide, representing the best of the United States Army. Now, he’s preparing to transition out of service.

So, what happens when a military musician retires from service? The music doesn’t stop. You don’t just turn down the volume and suppress the powerful, and healing force music represents. Mark shared another intimate and compelling part of his story. “My mother shared with me that coming out of service didn’t go well for my grandfather when gave up everything and stopped his music,” Mark explained. “He walked out of the VA hospital and ended his life by walking in front of a truck.” Mark believes his grandfather may have chosen differently if only he had stayed connected through music.

Mark is certainly not alone when it comes to his dream to help others overcome obstacles through musical connections, education, and performance. There are thousands of veterans and active-duty personnel with music coursing through their veins joining him on his post-retirement international journey with the Washington Tattoo. “If you look at it like bricks and mortar, the way music works in people’s lives, it combines and connects people from every fabric of life.”

Check out their programs and upcoming live performances and discover ways you can support the Washington Tattoo.

You can hear more from Mark and some of the performances of the Washington Tattoo on Military Musicians Showcase heard on Wreaths Across America Radio from 6-6:30 PM Eastern.