| Location | Great Bend, Kansas |
|---|---|
| Division | Division I |
| Founded | 1947 |
| Director | .... |
| Championship Titles | Kansas Champion 1956,57,58,63,65-68, 70-73, Great Plains Champion 1965-71, American Legion Champion 1971-73 |
| Uniform | ... |
The Argonne Rebels were a Division I drum and bugle corps from Great Bend, Kansas.
Contents |
The Argonne Rebels were founded in 1947 by the Saint Rose Catholic Church and sponsored by the Knights of Columbus.
In 1949, American Legion Argonne Post 180 assumed sponsorship, and membership was open to all area youths. The Post, and the corps, were named after the last famous WW I battle in the Argonne Forest, France.
A few years later Argonne Rebels became the official name for the corps. Naturally some of this is in dispute because it happened half a century ago. Some people did not like the name, nevertheless, the name stuck.
The Argonne Rebels were one of the 13 charter members that formed the DCI
In 1971 the Argonne Rebels and the Madison Scouts were the only corps in the drum corps world to receive a perfect bugling score of 5.0.
In 1973, after corps rehearsals had started, more than helf of the musical score was scrapped in favor of revoluntionary new charts from Stan Kenton. The Kenton charts worked. That year brought fame to the Argonne Rebels.
USMC Drum and Bugle Corps Director Colonen Truman W. Crawford also had connections to the Argonne Rebels and provided the corps with his classic The Stars and Stripes Forever.
History of the Argonne Rebels, Glenn Opie, available at Barton County Historical Society.