Man Learned To Play The Trumpet At Age 66 So He Could Play "Taps" for Fallen Soldiers

May 30, 2019 by apost team

It’s amazing how incredibly powerful music can be. That was true for a 66-year-old man who decided that he wanted to learn how to play the trumpet. He had no past experience playing, and he picked up the trumpet with one specific goal: to learn how to play "Taps."

According to KARE 11, Gary Marquardt is a retiree in Minnesota who was inspired to learn how to play the trumpet after he attended the funeral of a member of the military. He felt a little sad when he heard "Taps" being played on a less-than-perfect recording instead of it being performed live at the funeral.

It occurred to Gary that nobody came out to play the highly-honorable melody for the fallen soldier. He decided right then and there that he was going to learn to play the trumpet to honor the veterans in his community who had served so bravely in America’s military. 

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Gary told KARE 11 that learning to play the trumpet just made sense to him. He believed that after all these veterans had given to their country, learning a new instrument was the least he could do to honor their service. 

At first, Gary only knew a few notes. He admits that he isn’t exactly a natural-born musician. Gary’s wife, Joanie, jokingly says that hearing him play those same few notes over and over wasn’t a pleasant experience at the beginning. She says it seemed like every 15 minutes she would hear him keying up those few notes.

Joanie was very happy and proud of Gary when he began to get better, mastering more and more notes as time went on. 

Just three years later, Gary plays "Taps" almost every day in military cemeteries. He also volunteers to play at local military funerals, honoring veterans at funerals each year.

Gary was unable to fight in the Vietnam War due to being medically unfit for service. He wishes he would have been able to serve his country, and he had dedicated himself to serving the veterans by honoring them with his trumpet.

Gary admits that he doesn’t play perfect every time, but every time he plays it comes from deep in his heart.

What a beautiful thing to do. Gary’s dedication to honoring these veterans is truly moving. How does his dedication make you feel? We love to hear your thoughts and reactions to heartwarming stories like this one.