“Life has been a great ride, but the most important part of the ride has been with my Navy family. People can’t seem to fathom the bond of a group such as the members of Unit Band 183” - Musician Second Class Mario Thumudo, Jr.
"It is very difficult to explain to anyone how a group of young men formed a bond that has never been broken. There are a few guys that never came to the reunion, but those guys had been transferred prior to our vacation in Korea. Life has been a great ride, but the most important part of the ride has been with my Navy family. People can’t seem to fathom the bond of a group such as the members of Unit Band 183," recalled Mario (Marty) Thumudo, Jr., Musician Second Class with great fondness to a United States Navy Memorial film crew at the USS Missouri BB 63 reunion in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in the fall of 2013.
Musician Second Class Thumudo first shared his memories of his entry into the Navy, “My Mother wouldn't sign me up for a kiddie cruise so I had to wait until Korea broke out and I enlisted as a musician with the thought that if I passed my audition…then I went to boot camp, then down to the (Navy) School of Music.” His love of music and talent displayed at the United States Navy School of Music would lead to great opportunities within the fleet. Thumudo recalled his next assignment aboard the USS Missouri as if the experience had happened yesterday, “We were there for nine months and the USS Missouri was coming back from Korea from its 
first tour and the school formed a band to go up on the ship as one unit, which was called Unit Band 183. There were about 26 of us that went on the ship and we had a ball.” His service on the Missouri would include numerous concerts to boost moral as well as participating in events on shore. He recounted, “My duties were as a musician (aboard ship) and in Korea my duty was a 40 millimeter first loader above turret two.” The bond and strong memories of the band that he played in were incredibly brought to life in vivid detail throughout his interview. To hear the story of Mario (Marty) Thumudo, Jr., Musician Second Class, come alive as well as hear a number of actual recordings of the USS Missouri Unit Band 183, view his detailed experience that has been digitally archived by the Navy Memorial.
The United States Navy Memorial honors Mario (Marty) Thumudo, Jr., Musician Second Class, featured within the series titled, Tales from the Navy Log, Story of the Month. Each month, this series honors a Veteran’s story recorded by the Stories of Service Program at the Navy Memorial. To learn more about this story and to explore the Navy Memorial Tales from the Navy Log Archive, visit the Navy Memorial Stories of Service site.