Defenders

The Defenders drum and bugle corps was formed in August of 1966 by Richard Baird and Raymond Truxell and was sponsored by the Morristown American Legion (AL) Post 59. The former passed away in March 1972.

The Post was no stranger to sponsoring a junior corps, having originally supported their own Legion Post 59 junior unit between 1937 to 1951. The Defenders performed as a parade corps in their inaugural season, entering the field of competition as members of the Garden State Circuit (GSC), placing 12^th in 1968, moving up to a 9^th place finish in the 1969 GSC championships.

They continued their GSC competitive status with 11^th, 14^th and 16^th position rankings from 1970 to 1972 respectively and added an 18^th place finish in the 1971 New Jersey State contest, followed by a 14^th place finish in 1972. The corps remained active from 1973 to 1978 as parade corps, including a season merger with the Hilltoppers of Livingston in 1974 to form the Hilltop Defenders parade corps.

They merged once again, this time with the Sterlings of West Milford in 1979 to form the Sterling Firebirds, under the continued support of the Morristown AL Post 59, operating until 1981. Other directors for the corps over the years included Jack Palumbo and later Stu Fyfe who stayed on through the mergers.

They disbanded in 1982.

Paul Legault (DCX)

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