Taps at midnight?

br1ankim24

5-Year Member
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Jun 4, 2010
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So I went to West Point's summer seminar and at midnight, i heard taps playing. what's it for?
 
This is TAP and it was the traditional "Lights Out".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn_iz8z2AGw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fxH-2LnRkc

"Here To Eternity"

They are very different.

Watch "From Here To Eternity"

That Taps scene in "From Here to Eternity" is one of the great, evocative scenes of all times. Watching it almost makes you want to stand and salute while you are watching it.
BTW if you have never read the book- From Here to Eternity is not only a classic movie, it is one of the classics of American military literature about the "Old Army" in its last days. James Jones then followed it up with "The Thin Red Line". I'm not sure if he ever wrote anything else worth reading but those two alone secured his place in American literature.
Jones on Taps:
"The notes rose high in the air and hung above the quadrangle. They vibrated there, caressingly, filled with an infinite sadness, an endless patience, a pointless pride, the requiem and epitaph of the common soldier... This is the true song, the song of the ruck",
 
His third book in the trilogy was "Whistle" I haven't read that one but I always meant to. I may go look for it. The first guy you see in that clip was George Reeves who then went on to play Superman on TV.
 
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Do they always do it at midnight?

No. It depends on what time lights out is. During summer TAPS is different for different groups. Right now for those at West Point you have New Cadet TAPS at 2200, Cadre TAPS at 2330, Combatives TAPS at 0030 and regular transient taps at 0100. So they'll play TAPS at one of those times. Usually it's played at 2330 because that's when TAPS is during the year and most of the time when people are actually here.
 
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