Promptly at 5 p.m., every day, rain or shine, blizzard or heat, a volunteer bugler wearing a period World War I U.S. Army uniform stands at attention near the flagpole at the National World War One Memorial not far from the White House in Washington D.C.
On a brilliant autumn day, I watched as a Black soldier attired in a World War I Army uniform marched to the memorial’s flagpole. He wore the distinctive blue helmet of the 93rd Infantry Division, the “Blue Helmets,” one of two all-Black infantry divisions of the American Expeditionary Force assigned to the blue-helmeted French army in World War I.
With a polished bugle under his arm, he faced the memorial. At attention, the bugler watched and waited. Promptly at 5 p.m., he snapped the bugle to his lips and played “Taps.” Pedestrians stopped at the memorial and along the nearby busy street. Downtown Washington D.C. quieted for a minute. Removing my western-styled broad-brimmed Montana hat, I covered my heart and honored the moment. A thousand thoughts flowed through my heart while watching the American flag and hearing “Taps” at the Memorial.
Thoughts a military veteran cannot speak but only feel.
The ceremony ended. I talked with the bugler: An active-duty soldier who performs with the Army band. He volunteers playing “Taps” to honor all Americans in uniform and commemorates the black soldiers of the 93rd Infantry Division. He said he is honored to serve at the memorial. I thanked him. We exchanged salutes, and he marched away.
Today the meaning blurs between Veterans Day and Memorial Day: Veterans Day honors the living in uniform, Memorial Day honors the dead in uniform. But the strong sinews of remembrance and honor bind both into lasting chords of who we are and what we are as a people. “Taps” honors the living and the dead.
The mournful 24-note bugle tune “Taps” remains recognizable throughout America. The tune lasts about a minute. “Taps” crosses all ethnic, racial, religious, societal, and gender boundaries. Buglers play “Taps” at veterans’ funerals, memorials, and ceremonies, honoring those who served in America’s armed forces. The simple but profound tune carries on high the character of the common GI: Simple in their daily lives but profound in their character, strength, and dedication to the ideal of freedom.
“Taps” is not a song but a bugle tune. “Taps” began in 1862 during the Civil War. Bugle calls gave commands to soldiers above the din of battle. U.S. Army Major Gen. Daniel Butterfield wanted a bugle tune to end the day and call soldiers to rest from their efforts and extinguish lights. Butterfield worked with bugler Oliver Wilcox Norton and together they modified an existing but long tune and created “Taps.”
Much fact and fiction, legend and lore, surrounds “Taps.” That’s OK. The tune does not belong to anyone, it belongs to all who wish to render honors for those who wore the uniform of a nation, which thirsts for freedom. In the words of Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg, “It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
This commentary first appeared in the Georgia Recorder’s States Newsroom sibling the Daily Montanan.
