Keith Collar Clark (November 21, 1927 – January 11, 2002) was a

bugler The bugle is one of the simplest brass instruments, normally having no valves or other pitch-altering devices. All pitch control is done by varying the player's embouchure. History The bugle developed from early musical or communication i ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

who played the call " Taps" at the

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

of President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

in 1963. He misplayed the sixth note, and to many this mistake was a poignant symbol of the American nation in mourning. The bugle that Clark used is on display at the welcome center of Arlington National Cemetery.

Career

As lead bugler of the

United States Army Band The United States Army Band, also known as "Pershing's Own", is the premier musical organization of the United States Army, founded in 1922. There are currently nine official performing ensembles in the unit: The U.S. Army Concert Band, The U.S. A ...

when Kennedy was assassinated, Clark was assigned the task of playing ''Taps'' at the president's funeral. On the day of the funeral, Clark stood in the rain for three hours before it was time for him to play. At 3:08 pm, after the 21-gun salute, Clark started to play "Taps", and on the sixth note, briefly sounded the

harmonic A harmonic is a wave with a frequency that is a positive integer multiple of the ''fundamental frequency'', the frequency of the original periodic signal, such as a sinusoidal wave. The original signal is also called the ''1st harmonic'', the ...

one higher than intended, "cracking" the note. After the funeral, many assumed the mistake was intentional.

References

External links

* * 1927 births 2002 deaths United States Army Band musicians American male trumpeters Deaths from aortic aneurysm People associated with the assassination of John F. Kennedy Musicians from Grand Rapids, Michigan Military personnel from Michigan United States Army soldiers Burials at Arlington National Cemetery 20th-century American male musicians United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army personnel of the Korean War United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War {{US-musician-stub