[TPIN] Taps Protocol

[Thomas E. Meacham]

Kerry,

My assessment has been corrected by Ms. Mattie.

I enjoyed your observations on DoD policy and practices.  This is  
always good information for non-DoD persons to have.

As a participant in Bugles Across America, I have frequently been  
requested to play Taps at the funeral service or internment of a  
retired service member.  Sometimes this is with a military firing  
party, so the protocol and timing of events is pretty well  
established.  Even with just a flag party, the sequence of events  
usually follows a known pattern.

However, at one funeral service in a church early in my participation  
as a volunteer bugler, the funeral director instructed me to play Taps  
in the hallway, as the pallbearers carried the casket from the  
sanctuary out to the hearse.  I performed as requested, but upon  
reflection, would refuse if asked to play it this way again.

I believe that the playing of Taps is akin to offering a prayer -- and  
in a church setting (or any other setting), you normally would not  
have a number of people walking in a procession, or doing some other  
activity while a prayer was being given.

Thus I have decided that if asked again, I will inform the funeral  
director that all attendees should remain standing, silent and  
motionless, while Taps is being sounded.

I don't know if others have encountered requests that run against the  
grain of the standard and recognized playing of Taps.

Best wishes,

Tom Meacham
Anchorage, Alaska

+++

On May 26, 2008, at 9:11 PM, Kerry Moffit wrote:

> I must respectively disagree with Mr. Meacham's assessment.
>
> If you go to page 12 of the Navy Manual linked by Denise you'll see  
> that Echo Taps is quite simple and is not a "round".  As a military  
> trumpet player/bugler I must also disagree with the need for a  
> "simple-persons version".  Taps itself is simple enough and 2  
> buglers should require no more than 5 minutes of rehearsal (if that)  
> to familiarize themselves with Echo Taps.
>
>>
>>