Taps should be seen as a national treasure

Taps should be seen as a national treasure

For me, the playing of taps is the most moving part of any veteran or military memorial ceremony or funeral. It rarely fails to bring tears to my eyes. The melody is both eloquent and haunting. It is a short piece of music, only 24 notes played on the bugle, but it carries the weight of the world with it. It has come to symbolize the final rest of our military servicemembers, veterans and public servants such as police officers and firefighters.

Taps has a long and glorious history, one frequently incorrectly spread as myths and urban legends. Contrary to one popular Internet legend, taps did not originate when a captain in the Union Army came upon his son's body on the battlefield, finding the notes to taps in a pocket of the boy's Confederate uniform.

The most comprehensive telling of the origins of taps is found on the West Point Web site at www.west-point.org/taps/Taps.html. The author is Jari A. Villanueva, a former Air Force bugler and noted bugle historian. Villanueva was the curator of the Taps Bugle Exhibit at Arlington National Cemetery from 1999-2002, and is considered the country's foremost authority on the bugle call.

via Taps should be seen as a national treasure | theleafchronicle.com | The Leaf Chronicle.

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