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Maj. Robert M. Berglund died 1977

BERGLUND, JOHNSON

Posted By: Sharyl Ferrall
Date: 4/27/2006 at 06:04:11

Retired Army Maj. Robert M. Berglund, 61, who was Chief of Army Bands at the Pentagon from 1963 until retiring in 1966, died yesterday at DeWitt Army Hospital at Ft. Belvoir after a long illness.

Born in Boone, Iowa, he was an accomplished clarinetist, who played with a number of bands before entering the Army in 1940.

Maj. Berglund was appointed warrant officer bandleader of the 511th Parachute Infantry Band, which later was designated the 11th Airborne Division Band. He also qualified as a parachutist.

During World War II, the division band participated actively in beachhead landings and combat operations in the South Pacific.

After the war, Maj. Berglund reorganized the 82d Airborne Division band at Ft. Bragg, N.C., and served as its leader for three and a half years.

He was bandleader of the 124th Army Band in Yokohama, Japan, at the outbreak of the Korean conflict, Redesignated as the 18th Army Band, it also went into combat in Korea and entertained United Nations troops when conditions permitted. He was its commander for 18 months.

Maj. Berglund was assigned as Assistant Chief of Army Bands at the Department of the Army here in 1952. Two years later, he was transferred to West Point, where he subsequently became assistant bandmaster of the Military Academy Band, until his return here in 1963.

His decorations included the Bronze Star with two Oak Leaf Clusters. After retiring from military service, Maj. Berglund because affiliated with Mount Vernon Realty, Inc.

He was a member of the National Band Association, the board of directors of the Alexandria Symphony, the United Ostomy Association and the Army Navy Country Club.

He is survived by his wife, Ann Berglund, of the home in Alexandria; a daughter, Bretta B. Johnson, of Minneapolis; two sons, Robert M. Jr., of Greenwich, Conn., and army Capt. Barry A., of Alexandria; his mother, Mrs. Carl A. Berglund, of Rockford, Ill.; two brothers, two sisters, and four grandchildren.

The family suggests that expressions of sympathy be in the form of contributions to the Vincent T. Lombardi Research Center at Georgetown University or the American Cancer Society.

-Washington Post, Washington, D.C., 08/20/1977


 

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