Echo Taps Worldwide 2009

Brass players are currently being sought for a special performance of Taps on Saturday, May 16, 2009, in recognition of Armed forces Day at St Avold, France.

Echo Taps Worldwide was organized in 2007 by the VA National Cemetery Administration and Bugles Across America to honor American veterans through a worldwide performance of Taps.

Each day, America loses about 1800 of its veterans, primarily those who fought in World War II and Korea. In their honor it is important we preserve the tradition of a live bugler to play final military honors.

Once again we are inviting all brass players. Tuba, baritones, trombones, french horns, flugelhorns, trumpets and of course bugles. During the event, players will form a line through the cemetery and perform a cascading version of Taps. Then we will all meet at the center of the WWll Monument and play Taps en mass.

The first large Echo Taps event occurred in May 2005 and saw a line of 674 buglers from over 30 states stretching over 42 miles in New York State from the Woodlawn National Cemetery in Elmira to the Bath National Cemetery. Playing Taps in a cascading rendition, it took the buglers nearly three hours from the first note played at Woodlawn to the final note of Taps sounded at the National Cemetery at Bath.

By 2007 Echo Taps had become an international event and encompassed brass players from around the world playing Echo Taps at each of the 123 National Cemeteries across America as well as battlefields, local cemeteries and numerous "unofficial" sites throughout the United States and around the world. At each location organizers performed a musical tribute based on the number of buglers that registered, ranging from 10 to over 1000.

The cascade of Taps began at 11:00 a.m. local time on May 19, 2007 at American Battle Monuments Commission cemeteries in Australia, the Philippines, North Africa and then throughout Europe. In the US, Taps began on the East Coast and concluded in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The mission of Echo Taps is to:

- Honor and Remember our American military veterans through a worldwide musical performance of Taps.
- Foster a new generation of buglers who will help Preserve the Tradition of a live bugler to play Final Military Honor.
- To raise awareness of our National Cemeteries in the US, the American Battle Monuments Commission cemeteries overseas and VA benefits.

If you play a brass instrument and would like to participate in the European event, please report no later than April 16th 2009 to following POCs:

MSgt Cathlyn Clark
DSN 489-6921
Commercial within Germany 0631-536-6921

Bugles Across America Germany Representative Hartmut Hausser
Cell Phone within Germany 0151-1166-6541
Cell Phone outside Germany +49-151-1166-6541

If you are interested in participating in Echo Taps 2009 in the US, please visit the Bugles Across America website.