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BATH, N.Y. (AP) — Once the pastor intoned, "May he rest in peace," a Marine Corps honor guard lifted the flag off Thomas Wagner's casket and held it aloft. Right on cue, from an adjacent hilltop at Bath National Cemetery, there rose a stirring bugle call. Played by an American Legion post chaplain, the Civil War dirge known as taps endures as a final salute to fallen veterans " most of whom, like Mr. Wagner, were warriors long ago. "For the families of those who served, it adds a beautiful, somber tone, a feeling of finality," said Fran Look, a...

Elongated Rendition of Taps Will Highlight Bugler Scarcity at Vet FuneralsBy Ben Dobbin Associated Press Writer Published: Feb 20, 2005 BATH, N.Y. (AP) - Once the pastor intoned, "May he rest in peace," a Marine Corps honor guard lifted the flag off Thomas Wagner's casket and held it aloft. Right on cue, from an adjacent hilltop at Bath National Cemetery, there rose a stirring bugle call. Played by an American Legion post chaplain, the Civil War dirge known as taps endures as a final salute to fallen veterans - most of whom, like Wagner, were warriors long ago. "For the...

For 35 years, the slow, melancholy notes have poured from George Menefee's bugle, sounding taps. On green cemetery lawns, standing a respectful distance from mourners, Menefee has lulled old soldiers — airmen, actually — to a final rest. Now, the 59-year-old Menefee is facing a different kind of rest — the possible loss of his job as Randolph AFB's honor guard bugler. And like many American workers, the source of his unemployment is new technology. "I never thought a couple of AA batteries would knock me out of a job," he said. The "digital" bugle, a cone-shaped, battery-powered device that...

Bill would encourage students to play bugle at military funerals February 08, 2004 3:20 PM Charleston A state lawmaker wants to help make sure that more veterans have proper military funerals in the future -- with buglers playing the traditional Military Funeral Honors music, rather than a recording. Delegate Larry Williams -- a Preston County Democrat -- is sponsoring a bill to encourage high schools to allow students to play taps at military funerals. The bill would also give buglers a 25 dollar educational voucher every time they play, paid for by the funeral director. Volunteer buglers -- who...

Updated 6:56 AM ET November 17, 2003 - When Sgt. Maj. Cornell W. Gilmore was buried today at Arlington National Cemetery, it was with full military honors from the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry - including a bugler playing "Taps." Gilmore, 45, was one of six U.S. soldiers killed when a Black Hawk helicopter went down last week in Tikrit, Iraq. But media seeking to cover Gilmore's funeral found themselves limited by new Pentagon regulations that went into effect on Thursday. The new guidelines state that "reporters are no longer permitted to stand at the rear of the mourners during the...

The press is trying to gin up a particularly insidious scandal against President Bush, claiming that he doesn't appreciate the sacrifices of U.S. troops in Iraq because he hasn't attended any military funerals. Media rhetoric on this subject has become particularly toxic of late. New York Times columnist Frank Rich got the ball rolling last week when he complained to CNN that the White House knows how images of Bush attending military funerals would "speak more than 1,000 words, and they want to censor them, basically." Not to be outdone, the Times' Maureen Dowd carped sarcastically on Sunday: "It's understandable...