Military-minded shop offers military, patriotic merchandise

By LINDA JUMP

the fourth in a mall.

conflicts since World War II. POW/MIA Recognition Day, established in 1979, honors those who were held captive and returned home and those who remain missing.

The Post 163 family vows to never forget those prisoners of war and missing in action.

Billie Pierce, who served as master of ceremony for the Recognition Day event, still had bracelets with the names of missing service members. One is of Navy Cmdr. John Ellison, who went missing March 24, 1967 during a combat mission over North Vietnam.

“I graduated in 1967, I’m 73 years old and they still haven’t found him,” Pierce said. “We must keep their memories alive.” SL

Air Force provided impressive gigs for veteran who still serves community

BY MARIA SONNENBERG

He played the saxophone opposite Bill Clinton and performed for the Queen Mum and Barack Obama.

Playing the sax, he also beat the legendary comedic chops of George Burns, Jonathan Winters and Weird Al Yankovic for a Grammy. He now works for the Department of the Treasury and plays with the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra.

Life has indeed been interesting for talented Andrew Cleaver.

“I have been fortunate to work with many extremely gifted and talented musicians and, I can say without a doubt, that Andrew is one of the finest I have had the pleasure to work with,” said Space Coast Symphony founder and conductor Aaron Collins.

Born in Lakeland, Cleaver became enchanted by the saxophone after playing a friend’s sax in sixth grade.

“I was hooked,” he said.

He studied music and education at Florida Southern College, where the director of the college band had connections with folks at the Pentagon. When he suggested the Air Force as the next step for Cleaver, the young musician agreed in what proved to be a career-making move.

“I was just planning to go for four years, but I was having too much fun,” Cleaver said.

Four years turned into 27.

In 1982, Cleaver joined Langley

Air Force Base’s Heritage of America Band. Four years later, he was selected principal alto saxophonist to the United States Air Forces in Europe Band, also serving as lead in the Air Force’s Glenn Miller Band sax section and drum major for the Air Force’s Ceremonial Band. During a concert in Germany, then president Bill Clinton joined in the performance of “Yakety Sax,” sitting next to Cleaver.

Fast forward four more years and Cleaver was now part of the Band of Mid-America at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. In 2001, he joined the Air Force Public Affairs team at the Pentagon and, in 2003, became the public affairs specialist, saxophonist and concert announcer for the U.S. Air Force Band at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C.

Before his retirement in 2009, he was assigned to the crème-de-la-crème of military jazz groups — the Air Force’s Airmen of Note ensemble.

With a degree in music and education, Andrew Cleaver made a career-changing move to join the Air Force, which opened opportunities to play the saxophone for a variety of reputable Air Force bands and ensembles.

While at Langley, Cleaver and the rest of the band was hired by American musical satirist Peter Schickele to record “PDQ Bach: Music for an Awful Lot of Winds and Percussion,” an album of comedic musical compositions by his fictional PDQ Bach, the Bach family’s “only forgotten son.” The album earned a Grammy for Best Comedy Album in 1992, ahead of runners-up Burns, Winters, Yankovic and Rita Rudner.

Life for the now-Suntree resident revolves around Cleaver’s job at the

Not many mall stores remind a veteran of their last deployment. But Bunker 27, a retail store that opened in July at the Melbourne Square Mall, lives up to its name. Inside, customers can get a sense of military life, from the smell of canvas to medical tents from the Vietnam War era as dressing rooms. Behind the checkout desk is a large black and white image of the crew of the World War II bomber Belle, after its 25th flight. Even shopping bags sport an image of a military jeep pulling an artillery cannon.

“Every detail is wellthought out. The store carries mostly branded military and patriotic merchandise. There are no other stores like this in the area,” said manager Jacob Strobel. The next closest Bunker 27 is in an Ocala mall. “This area is a good fit with active and retired military,” Strobel added. The company was started

Strobel said he and his wife were walking around the mall and saw signs for the stillunopened Bunker 72.

“I was intrigued by the name and researched it and found out there was an opening for a manager. My father was in the Army; my stepson was a Marine and my grandfather was in the Navy. I had a background in retail, so I applied.” The store is reminiscent of the old Army-Navy stores, but upscale, with new branded merchandise and no surplus military goods. Popular are military T-shirts and high-quality duffel bags,

Department of the Treasury. No, he is not an IRS agent, but rather he serves in communications for the Department’s section dedicated to charities. Music continues to be an important part of his life as he plays with both the full Symphony and its Sax Quartet and teaches the next generation of young saxophonists. Free time goes to help in Defined Spaces, wife Ruth’s homeorganizing business.

“His authenticity is why he is so well respected and deeply appreciated within our musical community,” Collins added.