I can't read music but Im sure I could learn to play taps if I exclusively worked on it. I have a feeling they just don't want to have people doing it as an exclusive role so much anymore.
You uh, haven't spent a lot of time around active military members, have you? This is a rather common feeling for them, especially the marine corps. Like, people don't praise Lee Ermy for how wild his role was, but because of how accurate to reality he was.
He said why he enlisted—basically as a kid—but also said his musical talent saved his life. He became a Marine musician and didn’t go into combat. Even 30-40 years later, he still carries his survivor’s guilt and has played Taps at thousands of funerals, in part, I imagine to “combat” that.
My dad had a student deferment, but his best friend enlisted right out of high school, and was killed in Vietnam shortly after Basic Training. Dad kept his friend’s letters and pictures his whole life and even in his 70s would cry easily when discussing it.
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