By Rev. C.J. Barry Kentner
The Beat of a Dead Man’s Heart
The roll of the drum is muffled,
The tread of the feet is slow,
And over the road
Of Shuffling March
The winds of Autumn blow.
The Comrades, each year are fewer,
And their gait is feeble…they know
That although they returned
To march today
Tomorrow, they too may go!
The Salute is given,
The last Post blown,
And now, the Comrades part
With the muffled drum
And measured walk,
To the beat of a dead man’s heart.
Rev. C.J. Barry Kentner, Nov. 1990
Now this next item has been covered by several artists. Below are the lyrics to Gene Autry’s, Old Soldiers Never Die. It was recorded in 1951 on Decca Records. 1951 was the tenth anniversary of the U.S. entering World War II. It was based on a song written by Tom Glazer — and sung by Vaughan Munroe, Bing Crosby, Gracie Fields and many others. But for me Gene Autry’s is special:
Old Soldiers Never Die,
Never Die, Never Die
Old Soldiers never die
They just fade away.
On the seventh Day of December
In the year of 41,
The free world met disaster
At the hands of the Rising Sun.
From the bastions of Corregidor,
Pearl Harbour and Bataan
Came the sound of war and fury
And the Death March of free man.
Then from the land
Of way down under,
A mighty voice did say…
Our Cause is Just
In God we Trust
I will return someday;
From Mindanao to Tarawa
Our battle song it grew
‘Till on Surabachi
At last, Old Glory flew.
From Iwo, Leyte,
And a thousand Iles
Our just cause never ceased
Until one day, He did return,
And once more, there was Peace.
Now somewhere, there stands the man
His duty o’er and won
The world will ne’er forget him
To Him, we say “Well Done!”
Taps
According to what I could find and read online, the story of Taps comes from 1862, during the U.S. Civil War, Union Army Captain Robert Ellicombe was with his men near Harrison’s Landing, Virginia. The Confederate Army was on the other side of the narrow strip of land. During the night, Ellicombe heard the moaning of a severely wounded soldier out on the field. He didn’t know whether it was a Union or Confederate Soldier but decided to risk his life and bring the stricken man back for medical attention. Crawling on his stomach through the gunfire, Captain Ellicombe dragged the man back to his encampment. When he finally reached his own line, he discovered the soldier was a Confederate and that he was dead. When he lit a lamp to look closer, he went numb with shock. The dead soldier was his own son! The boy had been studying music in the south, and when the war broke out he enlisted but did not tell his father.
Heartbroken, the following morning Ellicombe asked permission to give his son a full military funeral, despite his enemy status. The request was only partially granted. Then Ellison asked if he could have a group of Army band members play a funeral dirge for his son during the service. The request was denied, but, in respect for his father, his Union Army Superiors allowed him one musician.
Captain Ellison chose a bugler and asked him to play a series of musical notes he had found in the pocket of his dead son’s uniform. His wish was granted, and the haunting melody known as TAPS was born. It is blown by a single trumpeter, often at the end of a day, and funerals. Most of us know at least some of the words:
Day is Done, Gone the Sun,
From the Lakes, from the Hills
From the Sky.
All is well, Safely Rest,
God is Nigh.
Fading light, dims the sight
And a Star
Gems the Sky, Gleaming Bright, from afar,
Drawing nigh falls the night.
Thanks, and Praise. For our days
“Neath the Sun “Neath the Star
“Neath the Sky
As we God, this we know
God is Nigh.
