(Radio Iowa) – A northwest Iowa teenager will be part of the “Taps Across America” tradition NEXT Monday, May 29th. Seventeen-year-old Creighton Urban is from Callendar, a town of about 375 people in Webster County. “It’s just impactful to hear it, especially on Memorial Day,” Urban says. The “Taps Across America” tradition began four years ago when Memorial Day events were cancelled due to the pandemic. Thousands of musicians played Taps at 3 p.m. — wherever they might be — to honor those who’ve died while serving in the U.S. military. This will be the fourth year Urban has joined this Memorial Day tradition. “I just go out in my front yard and play it,” Urban says. “I live in a small town, so everyone in town can hear.”

Twenty-four notes make up the familiar, somber melody of Taps. It’s been played at military funerals for more than 140 years.  “I think the first time I heard Taps was when I was practicing it in middle school band room with my director,” Urban says.

Urban’s band director is the person who encouraged the trumpet player to participate in Taps Across America. Urban is finishing up his junior year at Southeast Valley High School in Gowrie. He’s not sure what he’ll do after high school, but becoming a music instructor is on his list. Urban is among about a dozen Iowans who’ve registered on the Taps Across America website, commuting to play Taps at 3 p.m. on Memorial Day. The time coincides with the annual National Moment of Remembrance that was established 23 years ago by congress. It’s to last a minute — about the time it takes to play Taps.

The country’s first Memorial Day ceremony was held in Waterloo, New York on May 5th, 1866. In 1971, the federal Uniform Holiday Act established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May.