Just about every day, John Hersh plays taps.
He consults with an Amazon Alexa to find the perfect sunset time, then takes his bugle to the rooftop deck of his home on New Jersey’s Long Beach Island to play the minute-long tune written during the Civil War to signal lights out to troops.
Neighbors for blocks stop what they’re doing, listen, and at the end, applaud and blow conch shells in appreciation.
Taps is also played at sleep-away camps when day is done and at funerals when a life is over.
Hersh is a retired fifth-grade teacher. One of his former students, popular author Elin Hilderbrand, gave him a shout-out in one of her books. He started this taps tradition when he unearthed his 50-year-old bugle during a home renovation.
“I practiced to get back my lip, and then one day went up on the roof and just played taps,” Hersh said. “A few people were gathered below, but by the end of that summer, it became a tradition. Everyone stops — even kids look up at me — and listens. Then they applaud!”
3 questions with John Hersh
Does your relationship with a childhood friend make this tradition more meaningful?
“Yes, Tony Thomen. He sat next to me in band with his tuba. He was a neighbor. We were friends. This was during the Vietnam War era.
“After graduation, I went to college and the Pennsylvania National Guard. He was drafted. He went to Vietnam and, unfortunately, was killed. I came home and went to his funeral. Taps were played, and I think from then on, taps had a whole different meaning for me. I think of Tony a lot.”
Taps is such a powerful thing. I think of my dad’s military funeral, and I lose it. Do you think of Tony when you play?
“Sometimes, yes. I grew up in a small town, and Tony was buried out in the country in a little cemetery by his church. And about once a year, I’ll visit his grave, and I’ll stand there and I’ll think of not just Tony but all the men and women who lost their lives.
“And I do think of taps being played at his funeral when I do play on the rooftops. I do think of Tony.”
What should we do when we hear taps?
“Just stand still, fold your hands in front of you. Just pay respect to taps for what it does for individuals and our country. That would be good.
This interview was edited for clarity.
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Robin Young produced and edited this interview for broadcast with Todd Mundt. Young also produced it for the web.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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