While the sound of the bugle may stop us momentarily from what we are doing, the tradition and honor that accompanies this music deserves more than a moment of our time. Taps carries extra significance for Martinsburg VA this year, as they are blessed with a special playing from one of their Veteran patients to mark Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.
When 90-year-old Air Force Veteran John Gordon offered to play Taps at the flag poles in front of the medical center to honor this most reverent day, it was an opportunity the medical center could not refuse.
Air Force Veteran John Gordon
Gordon is a native of the town for which the medical center is named and served 28 years during the Korea and Vietnam conflict eras. When he retired from the military and returned home, he traded his high school band trumpet for a bugle.
Taps and Pledge of Allegiance
As a member of Taps Across America, Gordon has played Taps in his community for the past two years. He also recites the pledge of allegiance.
It’s important to him to remember and honor his comrades—those who came before him and those who will come after—by playing Taps daily for his housing development located along the scenic Potomac River in West Virginia.
“I usually single out the youngest person in the crowd for the pledge,” Gordon said. “I do that, so the young people get involved, learn the importance of why I do this.”
A retired schoolteacher, Gordon’s mission is to teach others about Veterans, service members, and their dedication to our nation. To him, the opportunity to play Taps was not for his own recognition but an opportunity to honor those who lost their lives at Pearl Harbor.
“It’s not about me,” Gordon explains. “It’s about them.”
With each passing year, the nation loses more of its treasured WWII Veterans. Martinsburg VA currently has less than 1,000 enrolled WWII Veterans, five who currently call the Community Living Center their home.
The next time you hear Taps played, let it hold a special reverence. Let it remind you of our nation’s Veterans and those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Martinsburg VA thanks Gordon for his continued service.
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What a wonderful gesture by you to our fallen heroes. It’s always important to celebrate December 7th so their sacrifices are never forgotten. For you sir a slow hand salute and all my respect. (A fellow airman of the Vietnam era$
My dad was in the Navy if they were poor pulling into Pearl Harbor Japanese with attacking when they came up to the island and with boats with bodies that have been hit they help clean up pick up the bodies Or injured personnel trying to get them into safety it was not a pretty sight so he told me I don’t think he ever really recovered from the sites that he saw during that war he did fight in the Japanese American war
Fathers name was Claude N. Garrett USNavy
GOD BLESS YOU SIR, LOVE THIS !!! ❤️ THANK-YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART FOR YOUR SERVICES, MUCH RESPECT AND WELCOME HOME
A heartfelt thanks from a Veteran of a later war. You guys made what we have today possible. Bill
GOD BLESSYOU!!! FOR YOUR SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY, AND YOUR COMMUNITYI AM A VETERN FROM THE VIETNAM AREA TO0!! MERRY CHRISTMAS! TO ALL VETRANS!!THANK YOU ALL FOR SEVERING OUR COUNTRY! AND COMMUNITIES!AND WE MUST ALWAYS REMEMBER THOSES WHO RISK THEIRS LIFES FOR OUR FREEDOM!!! PEACE!!
God love you, brother. Thank You for remembering our brothers lost and the day.
Our neighbor!! Such an amazing man.
Totally always giving of himself!