Wheaton, Illinois — It’s been more than 80 years since retired U.S. Air Force Col. Arnald Gabriel of Arlington, Virginia, took an enlistment oath to defend his country during World War II, where he saw combat.
The 100-year-old Gabriel, who also served in the U.S. Army, was once the conductor of the U.S. Air Force Band, and under his leadership, it became internationally renowned.
In 1992, one of his biggest fans, Bruce Moss — conductor of the Wheaton Municipal Band in Wheaton, Illinois — invited Gabriel to be a guest conductor.
“He did not know me,” Moss told CBS News. “He did not know the band. But he fell in love with the band over time, and kept coming back.”
On a subsequent visit in 2000 or 2001, Moss said he told Gabriel, who was in his 70s at the time, “You look so good, I bet you’ll still be conducting at 100.”
According to Moss, Gabriel replied, “I fully intend to.”
When Moss heard that, he recognized an opportunity too good to pass up. He wrote up a contract that stated Gabriel would commit to conducting the Wheaton Municipal Band on his 100th birthday.
“So I went home, wrote a contract and mailed it to him,” Moss said. “… He [Gabriel] said, ‘Of course, if I don’t make it to 100, this contract’s null and void, but don’t count on it.’”
Gabriel’s health is declining and he cannot travel anymore. But he was determined to honor his commitment.
“Your word is your bond,” Gabriel told CBS News. “If you sign a contract, you have to fulfill it — no question about it.”
And that’s why, last month, remotely, he struck up the Wheaton Municipal Band one last time. Even at age 100, he kept perfect time. But more importantly, he had kept his word.
“It felt like I was there on stage with them,” Gabriel said. “That’s the way it felt.”
Steve Hartman is a CBS News correspondent. He brings viewers moving stories from the unique people he meets in his weekly award-winning feature segment “On the Road.”
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