Joy is proud of our members who, in addition to working directly with outreach and community ministries at Joy, also have projects and services they serve passionately outside of the Church community. This blog series is an effort to highlight some of those passions, and the vast opportunities available to serve others.
Meet member Roger Meyer, who works with Bugles Across America to provide live buglers to Veterans’ funerals around the country.
What is the name of the ministry you work with?
I am a member of Bugles Across America (BAA) whose goal is to provide a live bugler for as many Veteran's funerals as possible. We have over 4.000 volunteer buglers available - about 35 in Oklahoma. We NEVER ask for money for our services.
I have been a volunteer bugler for BAA for 15 years. For the last 6 years I have also been the Assistant State Director in Oklahoma.
What does your work entail?
As a volunteer bugler I travel up to 100 miles (one way, as the crow flies) to sound Taps at the funerals of memorial services of Veterans, Law Enforcement personnel, and Firepersons. I have also traveled more than 1,200 miles one way to participate in various Echo Taps events in various places around the country. Echo Taps is where 2 or more buglers sound Taps one after another. As Assistant State Director I give talks around the Tulsa, OK area on how to try to ensure that you have a real bugler for your Hero's funeral, rather than having to settle on a recorded version of Taps from a ceremonial horn. I also share my experiences as a bugler.
How did you get interested in this work?
When my son, a 19 year-old Army Private, passed away he was given full military honors by an Honor Guard from Fort Sill, OK. It was a cold, windy, dreary January day and Taps was played perfectly, but very faintly as if a long ways off. A year later I heard of a group putting on an Echo Taps event in mid-state New York - not too far from where my son had been stationed and near to where he died. They were looking for any/all brass players to join them for the event. My wife and I decided to take the trip up there. The group turned out to be Bugles Across America. I ended up being 1 of over 670 horn players who participated. I attended a dinner meeting where I heard all about the group. I also was able to determine from what I heard that my son's Taps had most likely been played on a boombox. I decided then and there that I would change instruments (I was playing a baritone at the time). Once I was used to playing a trumpet/bugle I joined BAA to help ensure that more of our Veterans would be honored by a live sounding of Taps rather than a recording be played at their funeral.
What do you find is the most rewarding part of your work?
In addition to remembering/honoring my son every time I sound Taps I also get a tremendous sense of worth by knowing that I am helping a grieving family honor their loved one by sending them off to their final post with a live sounding of Taps. Having been on the receiving side of Taps at my son's funeral I know how much that means.
How can others get involved?
Anyone interested in becoming a bugler for BAA can go to our website (https://www.buglesacrossamerica.org) and sign up. A State Director or an Assistant State Director will listen to you sound Taps and determine if you do it in a sufficiently dignified manner and add you to your state's bugler roll. From there it is a matter of waiting for bugler requests to come through the system or even better to go out and spread the word about BAA and try to encourage more people to request our FREE services. They can also go to the same website to request a volunteer bugler for a funeral of a loved one.
