TAPS 150
Our main reason for visiting Arlington on May 19th was to attend a ceremony commemorating the 150th anniversary of the origin of Taps, the nation’s bugle call. Further down this page, I’ve embedded a video (from youtube) of a large group playing Taps at the conclusion of the ceremony. If you only look at one thing on this page, make it that....
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From the Taps 150 webpage:
Taps 150 will commemorate the 150th Anniversary of Taps, our National Song of Remembrance, in the Old Amphitheater (near the Lee Mansion) at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia on Saturday May 19, 2012. The event is sponsored by TAPS 150, Bugles Across America and Arlington National Cemetery. All buglers and trumpeters are welcome to attend the ceremony and perform Taps in Arlington, our nation’s most sacred ground.
Following the ceremony and a massed sounding of Taps in Old Amphitheater, buglers will move to various locations in the cemetery and sound Taps following the chimes at noon.
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| Buglers from all over attended. |
Taps has only 24 notes...
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| Air Force Honor Guard. |
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| As I watched Msgt. Jari Villanueva play Taps, I noticed the biker-looking dude over his shoulder, watching intently. |
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| A closer look revealed he is a member of the Patriot Guard. You have all heard of them, they are the Vets and Bikers who ride to military funerals and put themselves between the service and any protesters who may be attempting to disrupt the ceremony. |
This is a short video of the group playing of Taps at the ceremony.
Makes my hair stand on end!
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| These bugle players were taking a break after fanning out across the Cemetery and playing in the noon heat. They traveled around and played at gravesites throughout the Cemetery. |
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| The look of the little girl when the Bugler started to play was priceless! |
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| After he finished, he saluted the grave he had been playing to! |
