Some trick-or-treaters in New Hampshire didn’t receive candy from one local, but were instead treated to an emotional rendition of “Taps” from a US veteran.
A group of trick-or-treaters rang Jane Ann and George Sherwood’s doorbell in Dover, New Hampshire on Halloween. The local couple didn’t have any candy to hand out this year. However, what the group did get was even more special. 94-year-old World War II and Korean War Navy veteran George performed a touching version of “Taps” for the group.
Local Dover resident Elena Duguay Morton captured the moment the veteran performed “Taps” from the couple’s front porch. She posted the clip on the town’s Facebook page, which has received tons of likes and support from the community.
“It’s really cool to see our community come together and love on this man and his family. It just makes you so proud,” Elena told Boston.com.
“Taps” is typically played by military personnel on a bugle at servicemen and women’s funerals. The song is also performed at memorials and cemeteries across the nation.
“He came out with his cap on and his white gloves,” Elena added “He was really doing it the proper way. Did the call of attention and played Taps – which was amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a fade out like that. The look on his face was just priceless. It’s almost like he was more excited to have them there than they could realize.”
While speaking to the outlet, Elena shared that another group of trick-or-treaters approached the Sherwoods’ house. As the family continued their Halloween candy search, she could hear the veteran playing “Taps” once again.
The Moving Story As to Why the Veteran Plays ‘Taps’
Jane Ann and George Sherwood have been married for 63 years, and the veteran’s wife also spoke to Boston.com this week. Jane Ann, 87, said that her husband, 95, plays “Taps” each and every night around 6 p.m.
“He’s almost 95, so it’s kind of keeping him going,” she said. She also told the harrowing story of why the song means so much to her husband. George first performed the song while in Boy Scouts as a young man. He quit school early though to join the Navy and enter WWII.
“At one point in Okinawa there was a group of marines who were landing and they got hung up on a reef and they were all shot,” Jane Ann said. “They took them all aboard his ship…they had to put them all in bags and a block between their legs so they would sink, and they were looking around for who could sound Taps. He learned it in the Boy Scouts… he did know how to do it but not very much, but they said, ‘Sherwood knows how to sound Taps.’ So, he did sound Taps while they had the burial-at-sea for these 30 marines. It was quite a thing for 17-year-old.”
Through the decades, George and another veteran friend would visit various cemeteries together. They’d pay their respects to fallen friends by playing “Taps” at their gravesites. When George’s friend couldn’t perform the song anymore, Jane Ann took her husband to the cemeteries in his friend’s place. It’s a touching tribute for those that have given so much. Those of us here at Outsider salute George and every other veteran for everything they’ve done and continue to do for our nation.
