On Saturday, 20 NOV 2021 the band held a Dining-Out in honor of our 15th Anniversary of making music together. As part of our celebration we invited a guest speaker to dine with us -- Captain Tramp Dunn, Raleigh FD (RET). While there is a short bio about Tramp which you can read below // the reason we asked him to dine with us was because 15 years ago, just as we were getting organized and starting to get kilts for the band - one of our founding members were asked to play the bagpipes for a Raleigh Fire Department recruit class; this invitation came from Captain Dunn. Tramp wanted the recruits to hear the skirl of the bagpipes, and understand the importance of the tradition they stand for in the fire service.
Joe Brady played a few tunes, and when he finished, Captain Dunn pulled out his wallet and gave him $100 to help the band to start purchasing uniforms and make this tradition happen in Raleigh. Fifteen years later, over 200 band members coming and going through our ranks -- we're still doing it, we're not just marking time...
Tramp shared some private words with us during our dining out. words which will remain in the minds and hearts of our members, not on this blog. He did reach into his pocket and pulled out another $100 for the band, and told us to keep doing what we're doing.
For our Fallen is everything our members stand for. We're grateful for people like Tramp standing with us; and for this - we made him our first Honorary Band Member. We love you Tramp. We're privileged to call you our brother. #BandReady
Wilbert “Tramp” Dunn entered the fire service on July 10, 1974, upon joining the Raleigh Fire Department. Tramp was 22 years old and just out of service in Vietnam in the military police when he found the inspiration for his life's work.
"One day, I was stuck in traffic in Raleigh and there was a bad accident right in front of me, the firemen were the first to get there. They saved property; they no doubt saved lives. I thought, I'd like to do that, so I got with a volunteer fire department. Once I fought my first fire, the bug bit and the rest is history."
He rose through the ranks to the position of Captain, and retired on May 1, 2003, with 31 years of service. During his career, he worked in the Training Division, where he led the EMS/rescue program for over a decade. He served as an academy instructor, and taught ten fire academies and 233 graduating firefighters. Tramp worked for nearly twenty years as an instructor at the Wake County Fire Training Center. He also served as an instructor and consultant for the Wake County Fire Academy program, which started in 2008. He has taught classes throughout North Carolina for decades.
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