The Pioneer Drum & Bugle Corps was a World Class competitive junior drum and bugle corps from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Pioneer is a former member corps of Drum Corps International (DCI). History Pioneer traces its roots to the St. Patrick's (Catholic) parish of Milwaukee and its drum and bugle (D&B) corps, the Imperials of St. Patrick, founded in 1961. Both corps had been active in the Milwaukee area and the Midwest region, and both attended the inaugural DCI World Championship prelims in Whitewater, Wisconsin in 1972, with the Imperials of St. Patrick finishing in 19th place and the Thunderbolts in 28th. By 1973, the Imperials were facing financial difficulties and the Thunderbolts were having difficulty maintaining support staff, so the two corps merged. This resulted in a 150 member corps—much larger than most drum corps of that time—with financial and staff stability. Unable to decide on a better name and wearing the vastly different uniforms of both corps, the new corps was called "The Thing" during its first season. In 1974 the corps received the sponsorship of the Pioneer Container Corporation and found a name. The Thunderbolts' cadet corps continued, joined by a second "feeder" corps known as Pioneer II. After only a few years, the Thunderbolts' part of the merger departed in favor of the Thunderbolts Cadets, leaving only the Imperials' part in place, bringing about the unit's dropping the Thunderbolts' 1953 founding as its beginning. While not initially a strong contender, Pioneer became a regular competitor in the Midwest region during the remainder of the 1970s, and in 1978, the corps was one of the founding members of Drum Corps Midwest (DCM) which was to become the premier regional circuit in North America over the next quarter century. In 1985 the primary corps went inactive, and Pioneer II began a transition into becoming Pioneer in 1986. By 1989, Pioneer had started to become a power in Class A60. In 1991, the corps won both the DCM Division III (DIII) title and the DCI Class A60 World Championship; in 1992, they won their 3rd DCM DIII championship but finished second in DCI DIII to the Mandarins. In 1993 Pioneer moved into Division II (DII), where the corps was an immediate challenger for the championship. The corps was DCM DII champion for four consecutive years, from 1993 to 1996. In 1994, the corps went undefeated and won the DCI DII crown.