Boise, Idaho. (May 26, 2024): Perhaps the most moving and sad moment at military funerals is the playing of Taps. In this photo by Air Force Staff Sergeant Joseph R. Morgan, Idaho National Guardsman presents the flag in a ceremony to honor fallen comrades. These ceremonies are rich in tradition and conclude with the haunting melody of Taps. Napoleon’s favorite bugle call, Taps was originally used during the Civil War to signal “lights out” for soldiers to go to sleep.

A typical burial team consists of pall bearers, a firing party, an escort element, and a bugler. The coffin is escorted to the gravesite draped in the American flag. Pall bearers stand on each side as the flag is carefully removed and folded thirteen times into a triangle symbolizing the three-pointed head gear worn by soldiers during that time. Each fold holds a special meaning. The first fold, for example, represents the flag as a symbol of life while the second underscores our belief in eternal life.

Once the flag is folded, seven riflemen fire three volleys each representing duty, honor, country. During the Civil War, both sides would cease hostilities to collect their dead and wounded. Once the fallen have been properly retrieved, the firing of three volleys meant the dead had been properly cared for and it was time to resume the battle.

The final, and most emotional, point in the ceremony is the presentation of the folded American flag to the family of the fallen. The officer in charge of the detail solemnly stoops to deliver the folded flag and relays the following message: “On behalf of the President of the United States and a grateful Nation, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation for your loved one's honorable and faithful service” in the line of duty.