Saturday, June 6, 2020

Taps: Reflections on D-Day and Normandy

American Cemetery, Normandy, France

I didn't know much about military protocol until I read F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1935 short story collection, Taps at Reveille about fifty years ago. I found myself forced to look up the meaning of "Taps" and "Reveille". To my surprise, I learned that there's an additional third military bugle ceremony, "Retreat."

Reveille, played at sunrise, derives from the French réveille, meaning "wake up." Sometimes these days I have to remind myself that it's probably not to my benefit to roll over and sleep until noon.

Retreat, played at the end of the work day, has signaled the military end of duty since the Revolutionary War, with the bugle call harking back, astonishingly enough, to the Crusades.I'm no longer much of a crusader, so now this for me signals Happy Hour!

Lastly, Taps, can signal lights out, but also is played at military funerals and ceremonies.

Chet Baker
My favorite jazz musician, Chet Baker, left school at the age of 16 in 1946 to join the US Army, assigned to Berlin, where he joined the 298th Army Band. He also played Taps each evening. I wish he'd recorded that...I'd certainly listen to it today.

F. Scott Fitzgerald's choice of that title for his book seems so significant for me. He understood the irony, the nuance, that reflections at the end of the day should also begin at the beginning.

I intend to commemorate these signals so that at least three times each day I will pause and reflect and focus on one thing. Right now, because it's June 6, I'm recalling my visit last November to Normandy and to Omaha Beach. My friend, Linda, and I went in a limo with six other people, to see the German bunkers at Gold's Beach. Then we stood on Omaha Beach where we gathered shells, and heard our guide describe the events that lead to this invasion where 3000 Americans were killed.


Linda at Omaha Beach
We continued on to the American Cemetery, in time for Taps. Strange to be standing on American soil in France, but we were. Twice each day the American flag is lowered, because there are two flagpoles. The tradition is to have a veteran, hopefully a WWII veteran, and sometimes with a lot of luck, a veteran of the Normandy campaign, assist in the ceremony while the actual flag lowering and folding are handled by active military personnel. The day we were there, four WWII veterans were present, two in wheelchairs, one a Normandy veteran.

When I came home from this visit to France I gave shells I had picked up at Omaha Beach to a few friends and kept a couple for myself. I have rubbed and polished them again today, remembering to reflect.

For more about the significance to these events and the places in Normandy that commemorate them, here's some resources:
http://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries-memorials/europe/normandy-american-cemeteryhttp://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries-memorials/europe/normandy-american-cemetery


If you get to Omaha Beach, do not miss the war museum there: http://www.musee-memorial-omaha.com/en/

 Or this: https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/museums/nmusn/explore/photography/wwii/wwii-europe/operation-overlord/invasion-normandy/pointe-du-hoc.html


More on Omaha Beach: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omaha_Beach
 
Operation Overlord

12 comments:

  1. Your posts always pique my interest and provide information. Hope you are doing well.

    ReplyDelete
  2. When is the US Open 2020?
    The good news is that you can Watch US Open Tennis from August 31st to September 13th.

    ReplyDelete
  3. As Zty Health Tourism Company, we provide patient organizations in the aesthetic surgery field, fue hair transplant turkey according to international standards.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Are you looking for a Buy Weed Online service or a weed dispensary that markets very good quality marijuana? Don't stress anymore because you've come to the right place.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Girl Scout Cookies, like so many other awesome weed strains hails from the West Coast of the US girl scout cookies strain where she created waves of raving excitement among cannabis lovers shortly after she came to the scene. So big was the excitement about this super-potent strain that it didn’t take long until these waves and her stellar reputation reached Europe and the rest of the world. Today she is the best selling strain on the West Coast and the most popular strain in North America.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  7. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  8. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Essays have always been the right thing that measures their capacity and writing abilities. write my essays for money. That is the reason why a lot of different writing services started to grow rapidly in the market. Mine is not an exception. Each writing service has something unique to provide.

    ReplyDelete
  10. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  11. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  12. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete