This 83-year-old vet reminds Texans of sacrifice by playing ‘Taps’ daily

Janine Stange
Feb 5, 2020 7:03 PM PST
1 minute read
Veterans Benefits photo

(Photo: Constable Clint Wayne Brown's Facebook page)

Tonight, when the sun begins to set over Galveston, TX, one veteran will stop traffic at a downtown intersection and face a balcony from which another veteran will step out and play "Taps." This tribute has been a daily occurrence - for the past four years. For a very touching reason.

Guy Taylor, 83, is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran. One of his best friends, Cpl David Champagne, served in the Korean War with him and was killed in action. Years later, Taylor visited his friend's grave in Maine. It was there that he vowed to play 'Taps' every day in Champagne's honor and in honor of all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

Constable Clint Wayne Brown, a member of the U.S. Navy Reserve, heard Taylor's very first tribute. To his dismay, no one else besides him was paying attention. "I thought, 'No, that's not how this works," Brown said in an interview with CBS News. He pulled his patrol car out in front of traffic to make people stop, watch, and listen. Every day since then Brown has been silencing local traffic for a moment while Taylor plays "Taps."

On March 18th, Karla Burton Smith and her husband were eating dinner at a restaurant that is across the street from Taylor's balcony. She took a video of that moment and shared it on her Facebook page. It has been shared over 123,000 times. "I think that hearing "Taps" -- that final farewell song -- struck a chord with everybody," Smith said in an interview with Wide Open Country. "Every generation, whether you're younger or older, is impacted by someone in our country's involvement in the military combat."

Due to the exposure from the viral video of Taylor's "Taps" performance, hundreds of veterans around the country have stood on 21st and Post Office Street in downtown Galveston at sunset in solidarity to honor their fallen brothers. What started as one veteran who humbly committed never forget his fallen friend in such a unique way now encourages many Americans to remember those who have paid for our freedom with their lives.

"I hope it lets people realize that this matters," Smith said. "We need to give respect to our veterans; they have all sacrificed so much."

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