The story of Taps

Memorial Day is May 25. The following column  was written by veteran and Polson resident William Reed Ingram, who reflects on the  meaning of the song “Taps.”

Ingram was born seven miles west of Wynnewood, Okla. on a small farm. He walked away from his home when he was 18 years old. He enrolled in geological engineering and field artillery ROTC at Oklahoma University. He supported himself with two jobs. In his junior year, he passed the test of the Air Force Flight School. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant shortly after the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor. He was in many battles and received a large number of decorations, ten of them for valor. He retired as a Full Colonel. He has a Bachelor of Science in Military Science and a master’s degree in economics. He is also a graduate of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces and the Command and Staff College.

Ingram moved to Montana in 1964 after retiring from the military. After attending college at the University of Montana, and spending several years in Texas, he moved to Polson in 1972 for good.

‘Taps’

I had the great opportunity of serving this nation in some of the deadly battles of the 20th century: there I met and fought with the warriors who risked their lives day after day and night to make our success possible. I admired and cared about these people. Indeed, we cared about each other. My friends and associates were courageous risk takers who were loyal not only to their country, but also loyal to each other. We were bonded together. Tragically, death was a common occurrence. We who lived moved forward with the full realization that we were leveraging off the backs of our dead comrades. That being the case, it was only natural that the haunting melody of a musical offering known as taps enchanted us.

I wonder how many know the story behind the song. I do not know whether or not it is a true story, however, this is what I have heard.

It happened during the Civil War when Union Captain, Robert Ellicombe was with his troops near Harris Landing in Virginia. Members of the Confederate Army were on the other side of a narrow strip of land. During the night, the captain heard the moans of a soldier who lay wounded between the opposing forces. The captain decided to risk his life to give aid to the wounded man. Crawling on his stomach through the gunfire, he reached the wounded man, and pulled him back to the Union lines. When he got back out of the darkness and the gunfire, he discovered the soldier was confederate, not Union, moreover the soldier was now dead. Then the Captain suddenly caught his breath. In the dim light, he saw the face of the young soldier; it was his own son.

The boy had been studying music in the south when the war broke out. Without telling his father, the boy enlisted in the Confederate Army.

When morning came, the heartbroken father asked his superior to give his son a full military burial. The request was refused because his son was a confederate. However, his superior agreed to give him one musician. The father chose a bugler. It was at that time the melody we know as taps and play at Military funerals was born. It is worded as follows:

Day is done - Gone the sun - From the lake - From the hills - 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 - As we go - This we know - God is nigh.

So this is the story. It is through playing this haunting melody that we honor those who split blood for each and all of us, and for the Great Nation.