passed away on field

[drumer93]

so, i was looking around and came across a story that at first was hard to believe, but anyway, i guess its old news, but in 2005 a DCA Kilties mellaphone player died on field, and from what i've read, it was from Cardiac Arrest.

I mean, i knew marching was physical, but i just never thought...


you can read more about it here:
http://www.dianaschnuth.net/archives/000511.php

[The Dreaming Tree]

so, i was looking around and came across a story that at first was hard to believe, but anyway, i guess its old news, but in 2005 a DCA Kilties mellaphone player died on field, and from what i've read, it was from Cardiac Arrest.

I mean, i knew marching was physical, but i just never thought...


you can read more about it here:
http://www.dianaschnuth.net/archives/000511.php

Very, very sad.

But, yes, marching is quite possibly more physically exerting than most professional sports. It may seem like a stretch, but between the mental and physical aspect of marching, and the extra weight from the instruments, it's fairly believable.

[PureRockFury]

I'm not a member of the Kilties, nor would I ever want to be, but I saw the whole thing.

My corps, The Grenadiers, were waiting at the gate to go on the field. We saw the member drop and not get back up. It was very surreal to say the least. The corps stopped the show, people tried to help, but it was too late. Also for some stupid reason, the ambulance wasn't on site like it should always be according to DCA rules.

For some reason that year DCA was requiring each corps to be at the gate ready to go on like 45 minutes before your performance time. Normally you could show up to the gate at the last minute to maximize lot times. So with the fallen Kiltie, they stopped, were allowed to start their show over again and take their time.

It caused us to be delayed 1 hour and a half.

It was certainly difficult to see someone die on the field. I still can't believed it happened. I will never forget that night ever. Coincidentally, that was the last night I ever marched on a football field.

[drumer93]

I'm not a member of the Kilties, nor would I ever want to be, but I saw the whole thing.

My corps, The Grenadiers, were waiting at the gate to go on the field. We saw the member drop and not get back up. It was very surreal to say the least. The corps stopped the show, people tried to help, but it was too late. Also for some stupid reason, the ambulance wasn't on site like it should always be according to DCA rules.

For some reason that year DCA was requiring each corps to be at the gate ready to go on like 45 minutes before your performance time. Normally you could show up to the gate at the last minute to maximize lot times. So with the fallen Kiltie, they stopped, were allowed to start their show over again and take their time.

It caused us to be delayed 1 hour and a half.

It was certainly difficult to see someone die on the field. I still can't believed it happened. I will never forget that night ever. Coincidentally, that was the last night I ever marched on a football field.

yeah..
and i cant believe i didnt put this in the original post, but last year our lead flute passed out at the only competition we went to, she was fine, but the band had to keep on going, but medical staff went and got her.
she just hadent ate anything that whole day i think, its on video here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D_o_yI-O38

and if you dont mind me asking, why was it the last time you marched?

[Mr. Hadouken]

so, i was looking around and came across a story that at first was hard to believe, but anyway, i guess its old news, but in 2005 a DCA Kilties mellaphone player died on field, and from what i've read, it was from Cardiac Arrest.

I mean, i knew marching was physical, but i just never thought...


you can read more about it here:
http://www.dianaschnuth.net/archives/000511.php

That's terrible, the people in DCA are a good bit older. I am surprised heat strokes don't happen often.

[PureRockFury]

That's terrible, the people in DCA are a good bit older. I am surprised heat strokes don't happen often.

MAJOR MYTH!!!

DCA is just as young as DCI and has been progressively getting that way for the last 5 or so years. I'd say there are way more young than old in those corps these days. However, at the time Kilties did have an older membership/

Lothar was complaining of chest pains and generally poor health. He took a rest for the most of the day while the corps rehearsed. He wanted to suit up that night and perform for prelims. God bless his soul.

yeah..
and i cant believe i didnt put this in the original post, but last year our lead flute passed out at the only competition we went to, she was fine, but the band had to keep on going, but medical staff went and got her.
she just hadent ate anything that whole day i think, its on video here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D_o_yI-O38

and if you dont mind me asking, why was it the last time you marched?

Falling down, fainting, and getting injured happens in drum corps quite often. It isn't something new that is for sure. Many people in DCI witnessed a contra player get killed by lightning. That story isn't a myth, however it seems as if the corps name changes all the time. I forget exactly what corps it was.

As to why it was my last time marching...MANY reasons.

I found throughout 2005 my back and knees were killing me. I have done drum corps since 1993 at the tender age of 8 years old. I started carrying 2nd bass back then. With the exception of one year, I have always been in the battery, but 1997 I did front pit ensemble. I'm not a big guy, not out of shape, but something about those new mag tube carriers and the deeper cut on the newer Yamaha tenors did me in.

At the time I also had a fiance that absolutely HATED everything about drum corps. She didn't understand it and didn't even bother to try.

Throughout that summer, I had also lost my job, so what savings I had I depleted on traveling and drum corps. Rightfully, my fiance had every right to be pissed off. I should have dropped out and got a job again. I finished the season against her and others wishes. I was once a hothead that was so gung ho about the commitment and discipline, that I didn't think in the "real world" of things. BTW, don't let that happen to you! Its easy to do!

By this time, I was also too old to march DCI again. 2004 was my age out year and I didn't march at all. I took a year off because of that fiance. DCA has always been a numbers game. If your corps isn't big, no matter how good it is, it will always score lower. Its absolutely ridiculous. They also took the "Demand" caption off the sheets around 1999/2000. This is so corps could get by playing easy books. Play an easy book, a book that is easy to clean and get rewarded for it. Again, bullcrap! Grenadiers have always been known for its strong percussion. Heck we were one of the first DCA corps to get sponsors on board like Yamaha, Remo, Vic Firth, Sabian, LP Group, etc.... We weren't getting rewarded for playing difficult books...CLEAN... 5th place in overall drums isn't anything to scoff at in a 26 corps circuit, but it wasn't consistent judging.

There is also a lot of favouritism to certain corps in the circuit. Unless DCA and its corps get their act together, I probably won't participate anymore.

In DCA its the corps that vote and make the rules for the circuit. DCA doesn't really have anything to do with it. Certain corps will group together and make rules they only benefit them instead of looking at the big picture.

Alright I'm done now! lol

[Mr. Hadouken]

DCA is just as young as DCI and has been progressively getting that way for the last 5 or so years. I'd say there are way more young than old in those corps these days. However, at the time Kilties did have an older membership/

Lothar was complaining of chest pains and generally poor health. He took a rest for the most of the day while the corps rehearsed. He wanted to suit up that night and perform for prelims. God bless his soul.



I marched in DCA (Carolina Gold). I did not say DCA is all older people, I said that there is a good bit (good bit is like saying a few IMO). Mainly in the Brass, drumline seems to hold the youngest.

[SLIPKNOT1]

Just an FYI,

Cardiac Arrest or "Having a heart attack" is not only brought on by physical exertion. While that can bring one on, it is by no means a requirement. Thousands of people die from heart attacks in their sleep. Driving a car or watching TV. Hardly physically demanding tasks.

Again, that's not to say that in this instance physical activity was not a trigger, but it's not automatically the cause. Many people have a pre-exsisting condition that was going to cause a heart attack at some point regardless if you were sleeping or marching on a field.

I just don't want to see this thread turn into a debate about how marching is so physical that people are dropping dead from doing it.

[PureRockFury]

Will,

People of drum corps know better. Believe me. While we understand that we put our bodies through more in an 11 minute performance than a marathon runner will in a 3 hour race. Obviously many performers go years without any kind of cardiac condition that could prove fatal.

Lothar was a prime candidate. He wasn't in shape, drank a bit too much, smoked cigars, liked his foods. I didn't know the guy personally, but all this information became public after his death.

Lothar and the corps was well aware of how he was feeling that day. This could have been adverted if the corps members and administration had said, "No, you are not marching tonight" However, in drum corps there is an attitude that "If I'm not dead, I'm marching" You do whatever it takes to get out on that field and give it your all. We all admire him for his absolute dedication to the activity. Hell, I admire the girl that marched in Bluecoats this summer with no vision in one eye after having a serious case of pink eye. Marching a show of that caliber without 100% vision as admirable.

Lothar's death was an untimely event that no one would ever think could happen. It did and we all learned from it.

[meowmaeh]

Jeez, that's awful.

[PureRockFury]

Jeez, that's awful.

It certainly was.

IIRC Norristown Tenors Kenny, who was or still is a member here on the PDF, might have been there that night. I forget if he was marching Reading Buccaneers back then or not.

[Ryan_Cox]

Life is crazy, man

That;s one thing I knwo for sure
So short
\
God hjekpsus

[Mr Johnson]

That night in Scranton...

so, i was looking around and came across a story that at first was hard to believe, but anyway, i guess its old news, but in 2005 a DCA Kilties mellaphone player died on field, and from what i've read, it was from Cardiac Arrest.

you can read more about it here:
http://www.dianaschnuth.net/archives/000511.php

I haven't been a member of PDF very long, and I was surprised to see this topic. As a member of the Kilties snare line that season, I was witness to something I hope that I, or anyone in drum corps will never have to see again. Most of what is written in the linked article is fairly accurate so I won't duplicate that content here, but rather share my memories of that evening.

Since I was in the battery I really can't comment on what Joel did that day that might have been any different from any other show day. I remember the first time I realized something was wrong was when we finished the opener and our drum major, Jeff, seemed to be taking a long time to start the second number of the show. I can remember Jeff trying to start the 2nd number but people in the crowd were yelling "no" and other things I couldn't make out. When Jeff failed to start the second number I finally broke my forward focus and started to look around not knowing what was going on and why things had stopped. I saw a horn line member on the ground and another Kiltie, baritone Ray Johnson (who is an EMT), was over by him and our horn instructor Jerry Kelsey had also come out of the stands at that point. I believe there may have been others near Joel as well, but I don't remember.

After a few moments someone made the decision for us to leave the field and we marched off much as if we had ended the show and we gathered in the end zone. We waited there for some time as most of the corps leadership was on the field, with good reason. It did seem like quite a while before the ambulance arrived and at some point we left the field to go back to our corps truck and buses which were near the back of the stadium where the corps entered and left the field. We were in this area when the ambulance left the stadium and passed directly in front of us. Even at this point, I, and maybe many others still did not realize the serious nature of the situation. A few of us in the battery said a group prayer for Joel as we waited around the corps truck.

In the mean time other corps took the field and performed their shows. At some point it was decided that we would go back out and perform our entire show and most of the corps seemed in favor of doing so. At the time I thought it was the right thing to do and I didn't think much about it. But knowing what I know today, I think I might not have been as quick to want to go back on that field.

As we marched back onto the field we received the loudest standing ovation the corps has ever received. Even for someone like myself that takes drum corps very seriously, it was impossible to hold back the emotion. Every year arriving at prelims was always very emotional for the Kilties under normal circumstances because we always hoped to be that 10th place corps and crack Finals. Adding to that what we had already been though that evening it was just more than I was prepared to handle. We did perform the show, but it was not our best of the year, especially towards the end of the show you could feel that emotion was taking over and that the thoughts of many members were many places other than that baseball stadium. Following our show, we had the group photo taken and then again retreated to the area of our equipment truck. It was at that time that we were told as a group that Joel had passed away that evening. My wife has maybe only attended two or three shows in my entire drum corps career and I don't think it was by luck that she was with me that weekend. I am still thankful to this day that I didn't have to face that evening alone.

The video of our first show that evening was never released to the public due to what happened, but it is impossible to watch the 2005 videos without being reminded of what happened. For the majority of the corps that went on after us, an area of the field to the right of the 50 yard line near the front hash marks remained dark for nearly the entire evening marking the location where people had worked so hard to try and save Joel's life.

While it is very sad that Joel's life was cut short, I sometimes smile for the good fortune with which he was blessed. In the final moments of his life he was doing something that he absolutely loved. He was doing it with people who cared about him. He was doing it in front of thousands of people who cheered him on to do so. In this regard, he was richly blessed.

To this day I wear a black circular patch on my Kilties corps jacket which simply bears the initials "JM". Because it is unique to my corps jacket I am often asked about it, even by members of the Kilties who didn't march that season, or may not have known Joel. I am always happy to tell his story and remember him and I hope that he will be continue to be remembered as a Kiltie for many years to come because he was so proud to be a member of not only the Kilties but the drum corps community as a whole.

We miss you Joel - W.W.B.D.
Ryan J