I accompanied my nephew and ward to an interview at Admiral Farragut Academy in St. Petersburg. He was accepted and will begin there in a a few days.

Like all adolescent boys, he needs to learn how to give shape to his life, and the military disciplines are a traditional way of achieving this.

At Taps every night at the school, students stand at attention outside their rooms while Taps is played. I have heard it many times at Boy Scout camps.

It was begin by the Union army in the war but was quickly adopted by the Confederates.

The words are:

Day is done, gone the sun
From the lakes, 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 near
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.

Silver taps or echo taps is also a tradition at some schools

At Norwich University, the ceremony is held on the Upper Parade Ground, where the Corps of Cadets forms up silently at 2245 (10:45) for tattoo, and then stand in silence until 2300 (11:00) when echo taps is played, at which time unit commanders will tacitly give the commands of attention and present arms. The Regimental Bugler stands either near the flagpole in front of Jackman Hall or on Jackman’s balcony and plays the main tune of Taps. The echoing bugler will stand on the steps of Dewey Hall facing the Parade Ground and echo each series of notes. Following the playing of taps, the Corps of Cadets dismisses in silence.

When my boys were small, we went to the Memorial Day service at a Confederate Cemetery, and placed Maryland flags on the graves of the long-forgotten dead.

When our former Scout master died, he was buried in a Catholic funeral, and the presiding priest read the graveside service in a normal, respectful, but colloquial way. However, this was in sharp contrast to the Marine who with absolute precision folded the flag and presented it to his widow, and marched west with absolute slowness to Taps. The contrast to the informality and frequent sloppiness of most Catholic services was striking.

Another young nephew who died recently worked at the National Security Agency and had letters from Prime Ministers and Presidents thanking him for saving many lives. One matter became public: he discovered the plot to smuggle explosives on board planes in printer cartridges.

His immediate family attended a service at NSA; they reported that there was a wall with the names of those who had died in service, They Served in Silence. No one outside the agency will know how much they achieved to protect America; but we should be grateful to those who serve and do not even have their service known or recognized.

Thanks and praise for our days
Neath the sun, neath the stars, neath the sky
As we go, this we know
God is nigh.

Leave a Comment