Submariners band at flag ceremony

Date

• 1942

Summary

• The Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company employee band "The Submariners" perform under the direction of band leader Milton Detjen while seated in front of the First-Aid and Safety Building at the shipyards. The small one-story building is identified by a large sign saying "Hospital," and there is a smaller address marker attached to the side of the building designating it as "206 Hospital." Safety posters hang in three windows under the large sign. Band director Detjen, with his back to the camera, wears a light colored jacket with the name "Submariners" stitched in script across the back. Other workers including several dressed in white coats stand behind the band, facing the camera or looking up at a United States flag that has just been raised in front of the building. The picture was taken during a ceremony marking the donation of the flag to the First-Aid and Safety departments from employees who were working on the submarine Puffer, then under construction. The flag presentation was made by Glenn Schroeder on behalf of the Puffer personnel, and was accepted by Andrew Schmitt of the First-Aid Department. Schroeder was about to leave the shipyards to join the armed forces. The man in the light colored jacket standing in front of the left window is Safety Director Harry Berns, who also served as artist/photographer for the company newsletter "The Keel Block." This picture was originally published in the November 1942 issue of "The Keel Block." The Submariners band played at numerous rallies, radio broadcasts, and special events such as this, as well as at every submarine launching.