TAPS…
Our heartfelt condolences to the families and friends
of our fallen comrades.
Lucien J.
Roy, 82
Charles J.
Musso Sr., 89
Peter P.
Granieri, 84
Harold E.
"Ozzie" Osborne, 77
Harry F.
Fielder, 76
Vincent C.
O'Leary, 89
James Larkin,
82 Warwick, RI
Joseph D.
D'Errico, 89
John Bunch,
88
Robert
Rivard, 87 Rumford, RI
R. Lennart
Johnson
William A.
Mancini
Russell F.
Anderson, 93
Edmund P.
Pryor, 76
Thomas
Petrucci, 76 Oldsmar, FL
The History of TAPS
Of
all the military bugle calls, none is so easily recognized or more apt to
render emotion than taps. Up to the Civil War, the traditional call at day's
end was a tune, borrowed from the French, called “Lights
Out”. In July of 1862, in the aftermath of the bloody Seven Days battles,
hard on the loss of 600 men and wounded himself, Union
General Daniel Adams Butterfield called the brigade bugler to his tent. He
thought "Lights Out" was too formal and he wished to honor his
men. Oliver Wilcox Norton, the bugler, tells the story, "...showing me
some notes on a staff written in pencil on the back of an envelope, (he) asked
me to sound them on my bugle. I did this several times, playing the music as
written. He changed it somewhat, lengthening some notes and shortening others,
but retaining the melody as he first gave it to me. After getting it to his
satisfaction, he directed me to sound that call for taps thereafter in place of
the regulation call. The music was beautiful on that still summer night and
was heard far beyond the limits of our Brigade. The next day I was visited by
several buglers from neighboring brigades, asking for copies of the music which
I gladly furnished. The call was gradually taken up through the Army of the
This more emotive and powerful Taps was soon
adopted throughout the military. In 1874 It was
officially recognized by the
- from an article by Master Sergeant
Jari A Villanueva,
USAF