Hylton Drum Major Wins Semper Fidelis Award

The United States Marine Corps awarded Drum Major Christopher Hunter Bockes with the Semper Fidelis Award for musical excellence.

A Marine Corps representative presented the award to Bockes at the annual Hylton Marching Bull Dawg Banquet.

"High school musicians embody many virtues that we, as Marines, admire," says the award's description. "Not only does the young musician have to maintain a high degree of proficiency with an instrument through practice and rehearsal, but he or she has to maintain passing grades and devote time to the extracurricular needs of the band or orchestra. In doing so, the high school musician displays traits that Marines consider essential to being a good leader...endurance, knowledge, unselfishness, dependability, enthusiasm and loyalty."

The Semper Fidelis Award is a tradition dating back to John Philip Sousa. The Marines' official statement said the award does not necessarily recognize the most proficient musical students, but those who display dedication, improvement and enthusiasm from year to year.