Beautiful… Taps

16 Comments on Beautiful… Taps

1. Quite so.

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2. Never heard it played better.

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3. Shit, I don’t know, am I a big asshole? Probably. I don’t want to hear this until our defeat has been confirmed. I for one am not ready to throw in the towel.

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4. No, Brad, I just think that many of us have heard it at Arlington, and other places. And Danny Boy on The Pipes.

   That’s not defeat.

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5. It’s for the 13, Brad.

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6. I joined the Funeral Honor Guard at Offutt AFB when I was stationed there. We performed military funerals all over Nebraska and Iowa. I never could keep tears from forming at the corners of my eyes when Taps was played.

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7. Tears.

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8. Tears? Yes, most recently just two days ago at a good friend’s funeral at Sarasota National Cemetery. I’ll miss him, he was a good man. He was 91.

   @Brad — it’s about honoring the dead, it’s not about defeat.

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9. I get it guys. I;m the sorest loser you’ve ever met. And damn, we lost this shit big. And nobody is responsible. Joes not responsible because he’s old and brain damaged. OK, so who was calling the shots. We have a right to know. I’m far from alone asking this question,

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10. The most beautiful sound every evening . . . at basic training. I first learned its meaning there, and it means the day is finished, so lights out, go to sleep.

    Various lyrics to accompany Taps (the first version is the one I first knew):

    Day is done, gone the sun,
    From the hills, from the lake, from the skies.
    All is well, safely rest, God is nigh.

    Go to sleep, peaceful sleep, may the soldier
    or sailor, God keep. On the land or the deep, Safe in sleep.

    Love, good night, must thou go,
    when the day, and the night need thee so?
    All is well. Speedeth all To their rest.

    Fades the light;
    And afar Goeth day,
    And the stars Shineth bright,
    Fare thee well;
    Day has gone, night is on.

    Thanks and praise, for our days,
    ‘Neath the sun, Neath the stars, ‘Neath the sky,
    As we go, this we know, God is nigh.

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11. HAMBONE

    I’ve had that problem fo 54 years!

    Wont go away!

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12. It’s been 6 weeks since I heard this at my husband’s funeral. It is beautiful and raw in my heart.

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13. “On behalf of t̶h̶e̶ ̶P̶r̶e̶s̶i̶d̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶U̶n̶i̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶S̶t̶a̶t̶e̶s̶,̶ the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and a grateful nation, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation for your loved one’s service to Country and Corps.”

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14. It is the last thing the happens at a military funeral.

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15. Wonderful!

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16. One military funeral we did in 1977 was in Sac City, Iowa. A young Air Force pilot had died in the crash of his plane. Immediately before Taps was played, a flight of F-4 Phantoms flew closely overhead and one of them broke away from the formation. It’s called the missing man formation. Man, it’s tough to stand at attention and listen to the widow and mother and others softly crying. Afterward, the funeral detail would usually be invited to the families home to eat and visit with the family and friends. We didn’t go unless invited, but if invited, we were obliged to go. It became obvious to me that the family would be comforted by our presence. I was comforted too, as I had recently lost my brother who I was close to.

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