Hollon Kinney is a founding member of the Sounds of Freedom Band, and the band's first director. "There were about a dozen members then", says Kinney. "But we were like family. And we still are", he adds. Soon after graduating from Dos Palos Joint Union High School, Hollon found himself in the U.S. Army Air Corps serving our country in the European theater. He jokes at how his skill as a trumpet player kept him out of the line of fire during the war, but if you press him to tell you more, he will admit to some pretty close calls. A proud World War II veteran who turns 96 this month, Mr. Kinney still plays trumpet. One of his greatest joys is to play taps in memory of our fallen heroes.