An American flag drapes over the casket as family and friends hear the final words of the clergy. The honor guard is called to attention.
“Ready.” The rifles clack as they load a blank round.
“Aim.” Rifles lifted.
“Fire.” The volley is fired.
“Ready, aim, fire.” The deliberate cadence continues.
“Ready, aim, fire.”
“Present arms.” The men in uniform stand at attention with rifles held vertically in front of them.
Before the flag is folded and presented to the next of kin, a bugler plays “Taps” from afar, the somber notes reverberating through the grounds. The 24-note, distinctly American melody signals the day is done while instilling hope, comfort and peace for survivors of the fallen.
“’Taps’ is about the song, the sound, not the person playing it,” said Brian Archuleta, assistant state director, Taps for Veterans. “I get away a little bit, and I project towards the funeral. You have more of a somber sound to it because there’s that distance.”
A Visalia native, Archuleta attended Redwood High School. He then attended Fresno State as a history major, intending to be a teacher, with a minor in music. From 1996 to 2002, he was a member of the Bulldog Marching Band, “The Best Band in the West.”
“Wearing the Fresno State marching band uniform, you have a sense of pride that you know you’re the Valley’s band,” Archuleta said. “You’re not playing just for yourself. You’re playing for the thousands of people in the stadium.”
While he didn’t finish the first time around, he returned to Fresno State and completed his bachelor’s degree in history with a minor in music in 2022.
During the pandemic, he was part of the Fresno State Jazz Band, but members couldn’t meet in person because of the lockdown. He recorded his trumpet parts individually for his professor to sync into a virtual performance.
“It was kind of boring because it wasn’t playing together,” Archuleta said. “We were like a studio band making videos.”
That’s when he saw online that Taps for Veterans was looking for buglers to play at veterans’ funerals. According to Taps for Veterans, there are not enough military buglers to attend every funeral, causing many to use audio recordings or digital bugles to play “Taps.” Believing that a live performance of “Taps” holds far more meaning and emotion than a recording, Taps for Veterans strives to fill that gap by providing volunteer buglers at no charge.
“There’s a lot of emotion going into it. ‘Taps’ is not meant to be played musically and perfectly. ‘Taps’ is meant to have a soul, a feeling, you know, real breath behind it.”
With several veterans and active-duty military members in his family, Archuleta connected with the mission. He also saw an opportunity to play live music in a setting that really mattered.
“It gave me the opportunity to play live again,” Archuleta said. “Just the meaning, being there to give a fallen veteran member his final salute, it means a lot to me.”
Archuleta became the assistant state director for Taps for Veterans in January. He is in charge of recruiting and vetting volunteer buglers, along with coordinating with military honor guards to ensure veterans receive live honors at their funerals. Archuleta also performs at other military and educational events.
He carries this mission into the community, participating in local educational events. On May 6, he attended the “Time Travelers” educational event organized by the Fresno City and County Historical Society for students in Kerman Unified School District at the Kearney Mansion Museum. The event’s “1776” theme honored the United States’ 250th anniversary. As dozens of schoolchildren gathered around, Archuleta gave a short talk on the history and etiquette of “Taps.”
“Since we are traveling back in time, ‘Taps,’ during the Civil War, was not considered a memorial yet. It was considered a good night call,” Archuleta explained. “It wasn’t until the late 1800s that the Army adopted it as the national funeral call.”
Holding a bugle and a trumpet, he explained the technical differences between the two, and either is suitable for “Taps.”
“Proper etiquette for ‘Taps’ … make sure your cell phones are off, it’s silent,” Archuleta said. “Civilians, if you were never in the service, put your right hand over your heart. Once the music is done, we do not clap. It’s still a moment of silence.”
This being an educational event and not a funeral, Archuleta said decorum dictates that “Taps” not be played. Rather, he enlisted the help of another Fresno State alum, Michael Dewar, and played an alternate version called “Echo Taps.”
As the schoolchildren fell silent to catch the soft breeze in the trees and amid the distant songs of birds, the two horns sounded across the grounds, echoing and intermingling in somber notes that evoke memories of the fallen.
“I understand the feeling, the emotions of ‘Taps.’ To play it for somebody else’s family, for the loved ones that they lost, it’s one of the greatest honors that I can be a part of.”
For those who play the trumpet or bugle and would like to be a part of a veteran’s final honor, Taps for Veterans is looking for volunteers. Apply at tapsforveterans.org.
