Jari Villanueva served with the United States Air Band in Washington, D. C. from 1985 to 2008 as a ceremonial trumpeter, bugler, and staff arranger. While he retired from the Air Force as a master sergeant, he has no intention of ever relinquishing his love of music.

Villanueva established Taps Bugler, an organization that helps to provide buglers for the funerals of American veterans, during the Civil War sesquicentennial to commemorate the first sounding of Taps at Berkeley Plantation in 1863. The Federal City Brass Band was formed and led by Villanueva to share Civil War period music played with original instruments with audiences throughout the length of the sesquicentennial.

In 2020, Villanueva began his association with the Doughboy Foundation. The Doughboy Foundation is the organization that oversees the National World War I Memorial in Washington, D. C. . It is Washington’s newest memorial. The memorial is dedicated – and pays tribute – to the 4.7 million Americans who served during World War I.

Of the 4.7 million who served, 2 million were deployed to France to fight in the war. The Doughboy Foundation was set up as a non-profit organization with the World War I Centennial Commission was created by an act of Congress to commemorate the centennial of the end of World War I in 2018.

“Part of the mission for the commission was to set up a National World War I Memorial because - interestingly enough - there had never been a national World War I memorial in our nation’s capital,” said Villanueva. “They went to work. A 25-year-old architectural student actually won the competition for the design of the memorial. He beat out over 350 applicants.”

The memorial, formally dedicated in April 2021, is located on Pennsylvania Avenue between 14th and 15th  streets in front of the Willard Hotel about a block and a half from the White House.

“Every single day at the memorial, we started in May of 2021, there’s a bugler dressed in a World War I uniform that sounds Taps. That’s been going on for well over a thousand nights, said Villanueva. “Imagine that ! We’re the only memorial that has a live bugler sound Taps in the afternoon. We do it at five o’clock.”

The memorial itself is not quite finished. That last part of the tribute is a sculpture called “A Soldier’s Journey” by Sabin Howard has been in the works for the last seven or eight years. The 58-foot-long bronze, freestanding sculpture – when completed – will be placed at the end of the memorial. The sculpture consists of 38 figures that tell the story of an American soldier preparing to leave for war, engaging in battle, and returning home from the conflict.

^{AEF Headquarters Band, sponsored by The Doughboy Foundation and National WWI Memorial in Washington, D.C., perform during Military Through the Ages in the 1918 encampment of the Old Dominion Air Squadron on March 17, 2024.}

Recently Band Leader Jari Villanueva organized a contemporary iteration of General John “Black Jack” Pershing’s American Expeditionary Forces Headquarters Band to perform at Jamestown Settlement’s annual Military Through the Ages program to bring to life the popular and military music of the World War I era. The AEF band replica was sponsored by the Doughboy Foundation.

“Pershing was a great proponent of military music. When he became the overall commander of the troops, he found out very quickly that the state of military music in the (American) army was pretty bad,” said Villanueva.

Pershing ordered a music school set up in Chermont, France, for the training of bandmasters and musicians. He decided he was going to put together a special, elite band made up of all the best musicians in the army stationed in France at that time.

“They were just incredible. Pershing also picked out soldiers for special units – like honor guard units. The same way you have special units in Washington, D.C. of elite troops,” said Villanueva. “Everyone had to be the same height and look good in uniform. Between the special units and the band, it proved to be a great way of showcasing the United States military might.”

During military ceremonies in Chermont, the AEF Headquarters Band performed splendidly. They were regarded as the best band the U. S. Army had to offer. They became known as “Pershing’s Own”. After performing in Victory parades in New York and Washington, D.C., the band was broken up – disbanded – and the band members were discharged or returned to their units.

As U.S. Army chief of staff in 1922, General Pershing decided that there should be an elite organization in Washington representing the United States Army through music. He issued a one-line order for the training and equipment of the U.S. Army Band. In that one sentence, the United States Army Band as we know it today was born. Today’s re-created AEF band represents the legacy of Pershing’s Own.

“This is a great group of musicians to work with,” said Villaneuva. “It not only represents that era of musical history, but also gets the message out to everyone about what the National World War I Memorial in Washington is all about and what the Doughboy Foundation does.”

The music performed by the AEF band all dates from the period of 1918 to 1919. Music actually written prior to the war that was popular at that time is included as integral part of the band’s repertoire. The band’s uniforms are correct, and the music is appropriate to the era. The stories told through the music reflect the time period.

“I’ve been blessed working with some really terrific people and fabulous musicians. My degree is in music education. I work with historians and musicologists,” said Villanueva. “This is something [an activity] that I can put my love of history and music together.”

Whether seated for a formal concert or moving through the MTA campsites at Jamestown Settlement for pop-up performances, Band Leader Jari Villanueva and the resurrected AEF Headquarters Band would have made General Pershing proud – delighted with the exceptional music.

“The public is enthralled with them. They look the part. They sound the part – they are the part. They draw attention to an almost forgotten war in American history – The War to End All Wars,” observed Homer Lanier, director of visitor experience with the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation. “Jari is an expert musician, arranger, and conductor. He really brings a great treat to us here at Military Through the Ages, year after year.”