IV 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 219 
Recognizing and commending the leadership and thousands of volunteers 
involved with Bugles Across America for their commitment and sacrifice 
to ensure veterans are laid to rest with the honor and ceremony they 
earned through selfless service to the people of the United States in 
the Armed Forces. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 8, 2009 
Mr. TERRY submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Recognizing and commending the leadership and thousands 
of volunteers involved with Bugles Across America for 
their commitment and sacrifice to ensure veterans are 
laid to rest with the honor and ceremony they earned 
through selfless service to the people of the United States 
in the Armed Forces. 
Whereas the National Defense Authorization Act of 2000 
(Public Law 106–65) directed the Department of De-
fense to provide every veteran, upon request, a funeral 
honors detail consisting of at least two uniformed service-
members, a flag ceremony, and the playing of Taps; 
Whereas the Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that 
veterans of World War II are dying at a rate of more 
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•HCON 219 IH 
than 1,000 per day, and the Department of Defense has 
estimated it can provide live bugle players for only 20 
percent of funeral requests; 
Whereas retired United States Marine Tom Day felt that 
playing a recorded version of Taps on a CD player or 
other audio system failed to provide veterans with the full 
dignity and respect of a live bugle player at their funeral 
or memorial service; 
Whereas retired United States Marine Tom Day founded Bu-
gles Across America in November 2000 with the goal of 
providing Taps played live by a volunteer bugler at the 
funeral or memorial service of every veteran nationwide; 
Whereas Bugles Across America has recruited 6,200 volun-
teer horn, trumpet, and bugle players from high schools, 
colleges, drum-and-bugle corps, and honor guards in all 
50 States, and the number of volunteers continues to in-
crease as more citizens become aware of Bugles Across 
America; 
Whereas Bugles Across America provides live renditions of 
Taps for more than 2,200 military funerals each month, 
providing a valuable service to veterans and their fami-
lies; 
Whereas an estimated 80 percent or more of the funerals for 
casualties in ongoing military operations in Iraq and Af-
ghanistan had a volunteer horn player from Bugles 
Across America; 
Whereas Bugles Across America welcomes volunteer bugle, 
horn, and trumpet players of any age, sex, race, or creed 
who can ‘‘play the 24 notes of Taps with an ease and 
style that will do honor to both the veterans, their fami-
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lies, and the burial detail performing the funeral or me-
morial service’’; 
Whereas Bugles Across America supports volunteer bugle, 
horn, and trumpet players by restoring and repairing 
many secondhand instruments to be played for veterans 
with dignity and respect; and 
Whereas the playing of Taps is a hallmark of a military fu-
neral, befitting the honor and dignity veterans have 
earned through their selfless sacrifices for the Nation: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That Congress— 
(1) recognizes and commends the leadership 
and thousands of volunteers involved with Bugles 
Across America for their commitment and sacrifice 
to ensure veterans are laid to rest with the honor 
and ceremony they earned through selfless service to 
the people of the United States in the Armed 
Forces; 
(2) urges every veterans service organization, 
State and local government, funeral home, and vet-
erans service office to inform veterans and their 
families of the valuable services offered by Bugles 
Across America; and 
(3) directs that the Secretary of Veterans Af-
fairs inform the respective veterans service organiza-
tions and state and county local governments of the 
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availability of Bugles Across America for the funer-
als of veterans. 
Æ 
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