CLEARLAKE ? The Lake County Military Honors Team benefited from a barbecue fundraiser hosted by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 2337 on Saturday. Approximately $500 was raised that will assist the team with uniform purchase, rifle repairs and other matters of general business.
Funds will also assist in the purchase of parade belts for the team. “One of our goals is to get parade belts with large, brass buckles,” Rich Feiro, honors team president said. “They will look really sharp and our members deserve it.”
The Military Honors Team a volunteer-based organization, accredited by the Department of Defense to provide full military honors for veterans who have honorably served their country. Military honors includes the firing of three rifle volleys by a team of seven riflemen, the folding and presentation of a large U.S. flag to the veteran”s next of kin and the playing of “Taps.”
Former VFW Post No. 2337 Commander George Thompson recently shared a story detailing the origin of “Taps.” According to the story passed onto to Thompson, the song surfaced in 1862 during the Civil War when Union Army Captain Robert Ellicombe was with his men near Harrison”s Landing in Virginia. The Confederate Army was on the other side of the narrow strip of land.
According to the story, during the night Captain Ellicombe heard the moans of a soldier who lay severely wounded in the field. Not knowing if he was a Union or Confederate soldier, the captain decided to risk his life and bring the stricken man back for medical attention. When the captain finally reached his own lines, he discovered the man was actually a Confederate soldier, but he was dead.
The story says that the captain lit a lantern and suddenly went numb with shock.
In the dim light, he saw the face of the soldier. It was his own son. According to the story, the son was studying music in the south when the war broke out and without telling his father, the he had enlisted in the Confederate Army.
The following morning, heartbroken, the father asked permission of his superiors to give his son a full military burial despite his enemy status. This request, the story says, was partially granted.
The captain had asked if he could have a group of Army band members play a funeral dirge for his son at the funeral. The request was turned down since the soldier was a Confederate. But, out of respect for the father, superiors did say they would give him one musician. The captain chose a bugler.
The captain asked the bugler to play a series of musical notes that he had found on a piece of paper in the pocket of the dead soldier. The wish was granted and the haunting melody the world knows as “Taps” was born.
Since its founding seven years ago, the Military Honors Team has provided honors for more than 600 veterans in Lake County at no cost to the family of the deceased veteran. The team operates solely on donations and an occasional grant.
Those interested in joining the team or those interested in making a contribution should call 263-8812 or 279-2279. Checks payable to Lake County Military Honors Team can also be sent to P.O. Box 1365, Kelseyville, Calif. 95451.
Contact Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com or call her directly at 994-6444, ext. 11.
