"Taps" is a bugle call T- a signal, not a song. As such, there is no associated lyric. Many bugle calls had words associated with them as a mnemonic device but these are not lyrics.

A Horace Lorenzo Trim wrote a set of words intended to accompany the music:

Day is done, gone the sun,
 From the lake, from the hills, from the sky;
 All is well, safely rest, God is nigh.

Fading light, dims the sight,
 And a star gems the sky, gleaming bright.
 From afar, drawing nigh, falls the night.

Thanks and praise, for our days,
 'Neath the sun, 'neath the stars, 'neath the sky;
 As we go, this we know, God is nigh.

Sun has set, shadows come,
 Time has fled, Scouts must go to their beds
 Always true to the promise that they made.

While the light fades from sight,
 And the stars gleaming rays softly send,
 To thy hands we our souls, Lord, commend.

Part (6)

Taps part 5

To

They came this way but once. Yet, they touched our lives in many ways while they were here. We shall remain eternally grateful for their friendship and for the influence each bestowed upon us.

Camp Pendleton Marine Receives Navy Cross For Heroism In Iraq

When his platoon was ambushed in an attack by insurgents in Iraq last year, Marine Sgt. Willie L. Copeland III took charge.

He led five Marines out of the heaviest fire, found cover and killed 10 of the enemy in close combat. When his commanding officer fell wounded, Copeland used his body to shield the officer as he administered first aid.

For his leadership and dedication to duty, the 26-year-old from Utah on Thursday received the Navy Cross, the Navy's second-highest honor. Seven Marines have received the Navy Cross for Operation Iraqi Freedom through Jan. 10, according to the latest figures from the Marine Corps Awards Branch.

The attack killed one Marine and wounded several others, including Cpl. James Wright, who lost both his hands and was awarded the Bronze Star last year.

Copeland said he was embarrassed by the attention and explained that he was doing only what every Marine would do.

"Nothing's natural about running into bullets," he said. "It's more important for me to make sure my men are OK."

Copeland is a member of the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, whose members are seen as some of the Corps' toughest, on par with Navy SEALs and Army Special Forces.

On the afternoon of April 7, 2004, Copeland's platoon was in a 15-vehicle convoy that was ambushed by 40 to 60 insurgents southeast of Fallujah in a volatile region known as the Sunni Triangle. The insurgents, firing from well-fortified and concealed positions along the Euphrates River, crippled the lead Humvee with a rocket-propelled grenade and disabled Copeland's vehicle with mortar rounds and gunfire.

Col. Rory Talkington, who recommended Copeland for the Navy Cross, said the fighting was the worst 1st Recon experienced during its deployment.

"Everybody in that platoon was heavily engaged in close combat," Talkington said. "The fact that Sgt. Copeland was not hit was just miraculous."

Copeland led five Marines out of the heaviest fire and rushed across an open field toward the enemy, according to the medal citation. The Marines crossed a deep and muddy canal and worked their way up to firing positions near the enemy.

Ten insurgents were killed at close range. Others were forced to flee.

Reinforcements soon arrived at the scene, but not before Copeland's commanding officer, Capt. Brent Morel, was mortally wounded.

Copeland did not want to discuss the battle Thursday, but a Navy Times account of it said Copeland shielded Morel with his own body and dragged the officer to an irrigation ditch.

Copeland stripped off his combat gear, vest and blouse and treated Morel, who was still conscious, by covering the captain's bleeding wounds with his hands and tying a bandage around his chest. For 15 minutes, Copeland stayed with Morel until an armored Humvee arrived. Morel was taken to a combat hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Copeland's father, Larry, who works in a steel mill and raises cows in Smithfield, Utah, was proud but not surprised by his son's actions under fire.

"All the way through school, if he was in trouble it was because he was helping someone else," Larry Copeland said following the award ceremony at Camp Pendleton.

Copeland has been in the Marines for seven years and is gearing up for his third deployment to Iraq. He met his wife, Marine Sgt. Danielle Copeland, a 24-year-old from Pasadena, Texas, at Camp Pendleton in 2001. The two were married 1 1/2 years ago.

"I think every man would be proud to serve with him," Danielle Copeland said of her husband. "He would never leave a man behind."

Marine Cpl. James Wright,

Assistant Secretary of the Navy Richard Greco, right, awards the Navy Cross to Marine Corps Sgt. Willie Copeland, left, during a ceremony at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base

Fallen Heroes of Operation Iraqi Freedom

1stLt Travis Manion 1st Recon Bn. was KIA to a sniper April 28 just outside of Fallujah. He was OIC of a MTT (Vietnam type CAP).

 

  Sgt. Nicholas R. Walsh, 27, of Millstadt, Ill., died May 26 from wounds suffered while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.


Robert M. Shannon, Jr. Tues Jan-30-07
A, B, H&S,1st Force 11/66 - 7/67 Corpsman

 

Gary Husar Feb. 24, 07 1st Recon March 66 - Aug. 67 Alpha Sniper, Delta Clerk, S-2, & S-3


Michael Holmes April 22, 07 Delta Co. Team Duckbill 66/67


William Alexander
Alpha/Charlie 79/8

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Lt Col Rod Richardson, USMC (Ret)
Iraq

Sergeant Jonathan J. Simpson
Al Anbar, Iraq
Read Articles

Corporal Seth M. Algrim
Camp Pendleton, CA

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Robert Quigley
St Francis SD
Car Crash Dec. 16, 05
Delta Feb 69 - Feb 70 Team 2/1

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Email from Rich Johnson 2006

I went to Sgt Maj Mills memorial service yesterday afternoon ... very well done! The family had a nice memorial display of his medals and some memorabilia. Most prominent was his Recon boat paddle that we used to give each departing 1st Recon Marine! It was a pleasure serving with him in 1963-64! He was a Gunny, then promoted to 1st Sgt., and I was the company XO. We had some great times with rubber boat and infiltration training from submarines off the southern California coast and training at the Moutain Warfare Training Center at Pickle Meadows, CA. He was one of the most squared away Marines I served with in my 27 years in the Corps! His ashes will be scattered in the Pacific Ocean from a Navy warship

Semper Fi

Rich Johnson

Sergeant James "Jim" F. Southall

Sergeant James "Jim" F. Southall