TAPS-The Digital vs. Live Buglers in Missouri in 2007
In September 2007, the State of Missouri announced they would stop using live buglers to sound Taps at veteran funerals. The Missouri National Guard’s honor guard members will use digital or fake bugles, outfitted with an internal electronic device that plays a digital recording. It would be instead of live buglers at graveside, musicians often hired by contract. The decision was said to have been based on reductions in federal money for the Missouri National Guard, at a time when much of military spending is focused on the war, said Maj. Paul Kirchhoff, director of Missouri’s funeral honors program for the National Guard. “I can understand where there’s the concern with the digital recording, but I think it provides the quality our veterans deserve,” he said.
http://www.newstribune.com/articles/2007/09/15/news_state/107state03taps.txt
It didn’t take too long for the Governor to respond. Gov. Matt Blunt, after about a week of protests, directed the Missouri National Guard to use live buglers when available to play Taps at military funerals, reversing a previous decision by the Guard to discontinue their use. “It is important that as a state we honor the men and women who have sacrificed so much for our freedom,” Gov. Blunt said in a statement. “I have the greatest respect for those who have worn the uniforms of our Armed Forces and their commitment to defending our values.” The Guard will use live buglers whenever possible as a sign of respect, he said.
http://newstribune.com/articles/2007/09/23/news_state/100state03bugler.txt
