Final taps in Korea

VFW Magazine, August, 2003 by Robert H. Ericson

Thank you for all the fine articles about the last battles of the Korean War (June issue). As a field bugler with the Service Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I had the unique distinction of sounding the last bugle call on July 27, 1953.

It was a night to remember. They say the last 12 hours witnessed the greatest artillery barrage in war history. After it got dark, the flashes were so close together you could read the newspaper by the light. Finally at 21:45, the firing stopped; the silence was incredible. For 15 minutes we held our breaths. At 22:00, I played Taps to signal the truce was in effect. That was the last U.S. bugle call of the war.

On July 27, 2003, I replicated my bugle call of Taps in South Korea in honor of the 50th anniversary of the armistice.

Robert H. Ericson, Quincy, Ill.