Plains musician joins nationwide moment

A Plains man was part of a nationwide observance to remember the lost men and women of the armed forces who gave their lives in the service of their country.

Retired Air Force veteran Tom Bushlen participated in "Taps Across America" at the McGowan Grocery parking lot on Memorial Day by playing "Taps" on the euphonium. "I'm doing this to honor the servicemen and servicewomen who sacrificed their lives for our country," said the 74-year-old Bushlen, who served in the Air Force for 17 years, including 12 years in the Air Force band, retiring in 1992 as a master sergeant.

Nearly a dozen men, women and children stopped when Bushlen first did the "Star-Spangled Banner." He said he did the national anthem first in an effort to attract people's attention before he played "Taps," which lasted about one minute.

"I liked the ceremony and I think it was appropriate for the day. I liked that he had all of the information that he shared with us," said Dave Williams, a Navy veteran. Plains resident Kathy Warrington brought a folded U.S. flag to display during the event. "You can't play Taps without the American flag," said Warrington. She said it was the funeral flag for her uncle, Ed Parmenter Jr., who served in Vietnam and passed away in 2020. "I was honored to bring his funeral flag as a reminder of those who gave their life for this country," she said.

Bushlen has participated in the Taps Across America for four years, but Monday was the first time he had done it in public. "The National Moment of Remembrance is an annual event that asks Americans, wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day, to pause for a duration of one minute to remember those who have died in military service to the United States," according to the Taps For Veterans, a nonprofit organization that gets buglers at no charge for families that want to honor their veteran members.

Taps For America 2024 includes a map showing where each registered musician playing Taps at the designated time on Monday was located. The map, which includes countries outside the United States, shows the name and place of the musician and the type of instrument he or she is using. The program started in 2015 and became a national program in 2020. The website states that more than 10,000 musicians have joined in the nationwide salute.

Bushlen chose the grocery store parking lot because of its central location and with hopes of drawing a crowd to the solemn observance. "I was glad he was willing to share his talent in such a meaningful way. I was especially encouraged to see the young family walk over to participate in honoring our fallen service members," said Warrington, whose cousin, Steven Clayton Scott, died in Vietnam. She said she was honored to read the names of Scott and James Douglas Rummel, Rosemary Rummel's son, on the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C.

Bushlen has played the trumpet since age 8 and has been a musician for some 60 years. He received a music education degree from the University of Oregon and was the music teacher at Plains High School for three years. He has done Taps Across America on the trumpet twice, but the euphonium is his favorite instrument.