About
How We Started
In June 2004, Mr. Mark G. Riebs, an Assistant Commissioner for the Boy Scouts of America, San Gabriel Valley Council, led seven boy scouts from different troops to play bugles for the Scout Expo Opening Flag Ceremony. Since then, these and other scouts have been serving the San Gabriel Valley communities with drum and bugle performances on various occasions, including, but not limited to, Boy Scout Events, Military Funerals, Flag Retirement Ceremonies, and American Legion Events. On March 1, 2005, Venturing Crew 561 Drum and Bugle Honor Corps. was officially chartered by American Legion Post 280.
Our Mission
Our mission is to serve the San Gabriel Valley and surrounding communities in providing live drum and bugling services to anyone or any organization who requests such services.
What We Do
Bugling has been used for centuries as a way to communicate commands to soldiers. This art is slowly fading especially now at military funerals when TAPS is played either on a tape, or computerized bugle. Crew 561 emphasizes learning bugle calls, marches and flag etiquette so that LIVE buglers can be provided at the requests of the communities as stated earlier. Youths between 14-20 years old are invited to join, whether they play an instrument or not, to be part of our Color and Honor Guards. We hope to expand by adding more instruments, including bagpipes.
Our Meetings
Venturing Crew 561 members meet every Saturday to practice their music from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The venturers hold their monthly planning meetings on the last Saturday of each month with parents. All practices and meetings are held at the American Legion Post 280 facility located at 179 North Vinedo, Pasadena, California.
Bugling Merit Badge classes are offered and taught by Mr. Riebs between 10:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on Saturdays before the Crew 561 practices.
About American Legion Post 280
Crew 561 is fortunate to be chartered by the American Legion Post 280, located in Pasadena, California. The American Legion was chartered by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic, mutual-help, war-time veterans organization. A community-service organization which now numbers nearly 3 million members -- men and women -- in nearly 15,000 American Legion Posts worldwide. These Posts are organized into 55 Departments -- one each for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, France, Mexico, and the Philippines. The American Legion's national headquarters is in Indianapolis, Indiana, with additional offices in Washington, DC. In addition to thousands of volunteers serving in leadership and program implementation capacities in local communities to the Legion's standing national commissions and committees, the national organization has a regular full-time staff of about 300 employees.