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A battered brass bugle has joined the collection of World War II artifacts at the Herreid Military Museum in Luverne.
While it’s still a functional instrument, it’s now retired, as is its previous bugler, Lois Nelson, who played it for “Taps” at hundreds of local funerals for veterans.
And for the first time in decades, its haunting notes weren’t heard at Memorial Day ceremonies Monday.
“You reach a point where you have to give it up,” said Nelson, now 87, who retired her duties after Veterans Day last fall.
To honor her years of service, Terrie Gulden presented Nelson with a plaque of appreciation at Monday’s Memorial Day services in Maplewood Cemetery.
“She has been a wonderful gift to our veterans,” Gulden said.
He explained that for 20 years she assisted the Honor Guard in providing military honor services, which include firing rifles, playing taps and presenting the American flag.
“Lois has been a faithful part of Honor Guard services by playing through rain, blowing snow, freezing temperatures, and very hot days,” Gulden said.
“She very seldom missed a funeral and never complained about the conditions.”
He said many small communities rely on Taps being played through electronic devices.
“There is something special about hearing Taps played live, especially through a bugle that is a piece of history,” Gulden said.
The history of the bugle has been told many times, but it bears repeating.
Lois’ late husband, Ray Nelson, brought the Japanese bugle back from a battle in the Philippines.
Ray, a Hills native who served as Rock County’s Veterans Services Officer for 20 years, wrote down the story in 1992: “I discovered a small Japanese bugle hanging in a tree — another sign of probably a fast retreat ...” he wrote.
"We came out of that battle tired, hungry and a few hundred yards closer to Baguio, and I was the proud owner of a real, bent and battered Japanese bugle ... I carried it through the Philippine Campaign on to Japan and home to Hills. "
When he returned to Hills, he met and married Lois, who had come to teach in the high school. She was a science teacher and a musician.
It wasn’t until their children were grown and she had retired from teaching that Lois committed in earnest to playing Taps at military funerals.
She said she did it out of devotion to her husband and to veterans.
“I like to send off the departed veterans,” she said. “It’s a way to honor them for their service.”
Younger brass musicians are now called on to play the Taps, but Gulden said the distant echoes from the old Japanese horn will continue to honor veterans.
“Lois has honored our veterans in a very special way and I know that her husband, Ray, was very proud of her patriotic heart and service by using the bugle that represented such an important part of his life,” Gulden said.
“We will miss having Lois play Taps for us, but the memory of hearing that very special bugle ringing out over the silence of a mourning family will remain with us forever.”