NEWPORT, R.I. -- It is a simple, yet haunting 24-note melody, played at countless memorials and funerals around the world; it carries a universal meaning from the moment the opening interval is sounded. The playing of Taps during a funeral honoring a fallen shipmate is perhaps the most sacred and solemn duty a Navy musician will ever have.
Being ready to play Taps, often on short notice, is an essential role in the life of every Navy trumpet instrumentalist. In 2017 alone, Navy Band Northeast (NBNE) buglers supported 32 funerals of fallen active duty Navy shipmates or memorial services and has already supported four funerals in 2018. As a small fleet band, this usually means that NBNE rotates between one or two musicians, and each bugler carries a palpable emotional weight with them after each and every funeral.
“I remember every funeral I’ve played,” recalls Musician 3rd Class Alicia Sowders. “Believe me, they stick with you. After playing all of the funerals I have, it has made me truly appreciate life and how fragile it really is.”
“One of my shipmates from my boot camp division was killed during the collision of the USS McCain,” Sowders continued. “He was laid to rest in Texas so I did not perform for his funeral, but I did perform for three funerals of others who also lost their lives in that tragedy. After performing Taps, I introduced myself to other Sailors from the McCain who came to pay their respects. I had never met them before but after I played Taps and the funeral concluded, we hugged and cried together. I don’t know all of the sailors that I have played taps for but we are all shipmates.”
Upon completion of boot camp, every Navy musician attends the Naval School of Music in Little Creek, Virginia for their six months of “A School” training. Before graduation, in addition to other musical milestones, a trumpet instrumentalist must demonstrate proficiency in dozens of memorized bugle calls, a tradition which dates back to the origin of one of the earliest means of communication in military history. No single bugle call is taught with more reverence than Taps, as each instructor imparts the significance of the heavy burden its performance carries.
The playing of Taps transcends the bounds of language, preserving our nation’s resolve to remember and honor our fallen. President Lincoln reminded us, “That from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain.”
Carrying forward this sacred trust, our Navy buglers understand that Taps is symbolically the last bugle call a sailor will hear. They bring healing and peace to lives forever changed by the loss of a loved one, and through music, the Navy imparts the eternal thanks of a grateful nation for their sacrifice.