Monday Memories: The haunting notes of Taps made Gold Star mothers weep during Memorial Day service

Formerly a call for lights out, a revised version of Taps has been played for military funerals and other ceremonial events since the Civil War.

In this 1950 Blade archive photo, a group of Gold Star mothers, some weeping, listened as the bugler sounded the notes during a Memorial Day ceremony at the Civic Center memorial. One hundred Gold Star mothers, women who had lost a child in military action, were given places of honor at the service. They heard four ministers of different faiths pray for peace as planes of the Ohio National Guard’s 37th Division scattered flowers from above.

The parade and service attracted 25,000 spectators. North Korea invaded South Korea weeks later, igniting the Korean War. More than 36,000 American soldiers died in that conflict.

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