Bugler of “The Old Guard”
I was tired. I’d been walking around Washington, DC all day--enjoying some of the more popular tourist attractions--and just wanted to sit down for a bit. The temperature had dropped from 60 degrees to 45 since noon and there was a strong breeze that made my ears feel wind-burned and cold. Unfortunately, I didn’t bring a hat. I noticed several bright blue metal benches off to my right. That’ll do!
I took a better look at my surroundings as my feet took a mini vacation. I just happened to sit on the back side of the World War I memorial. Washington, DC has over a dozen memorials dedicated to honoring the service and sacrifice of our men and women from World War I to the Iraq war.
After a small rest I was ready to get a better look at the memorial. This memorial was every bit as beautiful and thought provoking as the others I’d seen. It is called A Soldier’s Journey, depicting a soldier’s journey of the war from start to finish.
“A Soldier’s Journey” - World War 1 memorial, Washington, DC
The sculpture contains 38 figures across 58 feet of granite. Starting from the left, the soldier takes leave from his wife and daughter, charges into combat, sees men around him killed, wounded, and gassed, and recovers from the shock to come home to his family.
As I was leaving the memorial a pedestal caught my eye. It was called the Daily Taps Ceremony. Every day at 5:00 pm, Taps will be performed to pay tribute to all who have served in the armed forces of the United States, and those who perished in the ‘war that changed the world’.
It was 4:45 pm. I was going to stick around and see this! There was a QR code on the pedestal that, when scanned, would tell you who the bugler was for the day. His name was Chris Watkins. Ten minutes before 5:00 pm Chris showed up in an authentic reproduction of a World War 1 uniform.
Master Sergeant (Ret) Chris Watkins - Ready to perform taps.
I decided to go and speak with him as it looked like he was just waiting until 5:00 pm to play his bugle.
Master Sergeant (Ret) Chris Watkins had recently retired from the Washington, DC 3rd US Infantry Regiment, also known as the “Old Guard”, after 20 years of active duty service.
His regiment is referred to as the Old Guard" because it is the oldest active-duty infantry unit in the Army, serving our nation since 1784. In addition, members of the Old Guard also perform duties at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Chris is married and has two boys in high school and will be going to college in the next couple of years. He and his wife are going to move out of Washington, DC to someplace quiet, but they’re not sure where just yet.
I asked him how long he has been performing the Daily Taps Ceremony. He said he does it twice a month and has been doing so for the last five years. Like the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the soldier that performs taps does so in any kind of weather, year round.
It was two minutes before 5:00 pm. I thanked Chris for his service, both to our country and the Daily Taps Ceremony and watched him play.
Even after serving over 21 years in the military I still get choked up when I hear taps played. For a few brew moments I didn’t hear car horns honking, police sirens or other city noise. From the first note to the last, Master Sergeant Chris Watkins played to perfection.
A small crowd had gathered. Chris was kind enough to stick around and answer any questions that people wanted to ask of him. He even posed for a picture with two young girls.
It was an unexpected privilege to both meet Chris and hear him perform taps; retired, yet still serving his country.
