It's Memorial Day tomorrow. That means flags will wave proudly as veterans participate in 21-gun salutes, programs, dinners and moments of remembrance.
While I haven't served in the military, I have relatives who are serving and have served. Great-great-great-grandpa P.O. Avery started things off for us, fighting for the Union in the Civil War before homesteading in Nebraska in 1866. More recently, Avery cousins Anna and Mark and Croston cousins Mark, Michael and Malcolm have enlisted. Anna and Malcolm are not currently serving, but Mark, Mark and Michael are. Thank you, all of you, for giving of yourselves for this great country.
As I attend the Memorial Day service at Beaver Crossing tomorrow, I'll probably tear up when the trumpeter plays "Taps." There's something about that music that gets me every time I hear it. Maybe it makes me think about those who died in any war. Maybe I find myself thinking about the families with holes left by those deaths. Either way, it's one of those moments when I hope no one is watching me as I blink back the tears and take a deep shuddering breath.
"Taps" has been played at military funerals since 1862, according to todayifoundout.com. It was written by Union Army General Daniel Butterfield, who was with the Third Brigade, First Division, Fifth Army Corps, Army of the Potomac. The song became a standard part of military funeral rites in 1891. In 2013, Congress designated "Taps" as the National Song of Remembrance.
The original lyrics to the song are (according to Wikipedia):
Day is done, gone the sun,
From the lake, from the hills, from the sky;
All is well, safely rest, God is nigh.
Fading light, dims the sight,
And a star gems the sky, gleaming bright.
From afar, drawing nigh, falls the night.
Thanks and praise, for our days,
'Neath the sun, 'neath the stars, neath the sky;
As we go, this we know, God is nigh.
Sun has set, shadows come,
Time has fled, Scouts must go to their beds
Always true to the promise that they made.
While the light fades from sight,
And the stars gleaming rays softly send,
To thy hands we our souls, Lord, commend.
It's only 24 notes and is usually played in less than a minute, but its impact lingers with the final note.
Again, to my cousins and everyone else who has served or is currently serving in the military, thank you. God keep you safe and bring you home again.
