An Army bugler’s story about his special wartime assignment

For those unfamiliar with military or camp life, Taps is played by the camp bugler at dusk of every day when the flags are lowered. It feels like we are so removed from these customs with its greater communal existence that required everyone to be working together, getting up at the same early hour and getting the end of day duties done before “lights out.” I have lived my whole adult life without the pleasure of such daily accompaniment. That’s one thing to consider when listening to this veteran’s story, the requirements of their communal existence. Another thing to consider is how it must have felt to hear Taps not at the end of the day, but in recognition of all of their fallen comrades. Do you think we’ve lost something with our fast-moving, individualized, compartmentalized lifestyles? Especially when it comes to grief and lost, what do you think we should do more of to help each other?

It’s not exactly the same, but growing up in a family of five kids and sharing my bedroom with my little brother I think I have some familiarity with a regimented lifestyle where we were all expected to get up, eat, go to school and get to bed at the same time. Of course that all went out the window when I went to college, moved into the dorms, had classes at all hours of the day and night and tried to ignore my own circadian rhythm as much as possible, much less do things on someone else’s schedule. So, communal has definitely not been my lifestyle for many, many years and I’ve loved it. At the same time, this many years into my own journey, I think that more shared experiences, both celebrations and solemn events, would be much healthier and meaningful. So many people in my life and in my friends’ lives have passed in these last two years, and it feels like so little time has been taken to mourn the loss and commune over these things. I appreciate this veteran’s story and pause at the memories of those who have passed and appreciate what they contributed to the lives of those around them.