Join in on the Sounds of Remembrance

On Nov. 11, 2018 at precisely 11 a.m. (local times), buglers and trumpeters from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other countries will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War with a worldwide sounding of “Taps” and “The Last Post,” sponsored by Taps for Veterans. Each performer will sound their call at a location of their choosing. Those locations will include WWI monuments, memorials, public squares, churches, and Veterans Day and Remembrance Day ceremonies.
As of Oct. 24, more than 300 buglers from 31 states and five countries had already signed up to participate, and organizers hope to eventually have more than 1,000 participants registered. Interested buglers and trumpeters should register at tapsforveterans.org/soundsofremembrance. All registered participants will be listed on the event website and included on the interactive world map of the event. The videos they submit of their sounding of “Taps” or “The Last Post” on Nov. 11 will also be posted on the website, and all participants will receive a commemorative patch from Taps for Veterans following the event. In addition, one participant, whose name will be chosen from the registered list, will receive an original World War I era bugle.
“The 11th Hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month”
Kelly Whitson, an archivist writing for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, described the following episode that took place in France on the morning of the Nov. 11, 1918. After the armistice was signed in a rail car in the Forest of Compiegne, General John (“Black Jack”) Pershing ordered his lead bugler, Hartley (“Hot Lips”) Edwards, to sound “Taps” at precisely 11 a.m. Edward was confused, as “Taps” was only sounded at day’s end. Nevertheless, he stood next to the rail car and “did as he was told.” It wasn’t until later that he learned he had sounded the official call that signified the end of the Great War. He later repeated the call in 1919 in Paris, under the Arc de Triomphe, as part of the first of many Armistice Day celebrations.
“Taps” is America’s “National Song of Remembrance.” It is sounded daily at military funerals and memorial services throughout the United States. “The Last Post” serves the same purpose in the United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth.
In 1914, after H.G. Wells famously wrote, “This is a people’s war,” “The Last Post” became known as “the people’s anthem.” It has been sounded at the Menin Gate in leper (Ypres), Belgium, every evening since 1928 to honor the dead of World War I (except during WWII, when the ceremony was held in London).
Taps for Veterans is an organization led by former military musicians and active and retired military veterans who understand the profound importance of properly sounding “Taps,” our “National Song of Remembrance,” as a way of expressing the nation’s gratitude for a veteran’s service. For more information on Taps for Veterans, visit www.tapsforveterans.org.