Something went wrong, sorry. :(

Video: Veteran performs “Taps” nightly to personally honor fallen service members. Allison Joyce and AARP Studios Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

Thirty-five years after we were stationed in Germany, a couple of guys with whom I’d served in the Army put together a reunion. A bunch of us met in Pittsburgh and caught up. And we talked

about the four men in our outfit who had since passed away.

Then, by chance, I saw a documentary about bugles that explained that the taps played at most military funerals is actually just a recording. The person will hold a bugle, but there’s a

digital device inside the bugle that plays the piece. That didn’t seem like doing things to the highest standard. So I decided I was going to learn how to sound taps for those four soldiers.

It wasn’t easy, because I had no musical training at all. My family got me a bugle for Father’s Day in 2020, and I studied recordings and videos and practiced for about six months until I

felt I could do it right. And it wasn’t only the musical part. I watched videos of the master sergeant at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery to learn his

movements.

Then, I sounded my tribute and posted a video to my Facebook page, “TAPS ‘The Last Salute.’ ” That’s when I started getting requests from people who wanted to honor their deceased family

members who were vets, or people they had served with. So I pledged to sound taps in honor of one deceased veteran every night. And then when the U.S. pulled out of Afghanistan in 2021, I

went down to a park and did a video tribute to the 13 soldiers killed in a bomb attack during the withdrawal. When I woke up the next morning, I had requests coming from everywhere. This has

really turned into a lifelong commitment.

After I sound taps for someone, I thank them for their service and their sacrifice in a handwritten note I send, along with a challenge coin, to whoever requested the tribute.

The main thing I learned from the military was discipline. That’s what allowed me to go from zero musical training to being able to do this. I learned that you have to stay with it till you

get to the end result.

Lash Bragan, 58, a retired schoolteacher, served in the U.S. Army infantry for four years. He lives in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Elise Ceyral is an associate editor of AARP The Magazine and the AARP Bulletin.

Unlock Access to AARP Members Edition

Join AARP to Continue Already a Member? Login

More from Members Edition