“Thank you for your service.” At a checkout counter, at an airport, or in a hallway, there’s rarely time to say much more. We offer our thanks and continue with the day.
At a Veterans Day ceremony, music could give us a little longer to consider what we’re thanking someone for.
When a bugler plays “Taps,” people grow quiet. Some bow their heads; others look toward the flag or watch the musician. Someone remembering a friend’s funeral may find those notes difficult to hear. A child attending a ceremony for the first time may look to a parent to understand why everyone has stopped talking. We hear the same music, but it brings different memories to each of us.
The Power of the National Anthem to Unite and Reflect
The national anthem gathers us in another way. Some people sing confidently; others search for a comfortable octave or stand silently. For a few minutes, we give our attention to something we share. What we make of that moment varies, especially in a country where our disagreements run deep. Still, it can be moving to hear people make the effort to sing together. And we may respectfully wonder about those who don’t stand.
Ceremonies have their place. We come together to honor, to remember, and to share those who have served and what we have in common as Americans. We also want to know more about the people we have gathered to honor.
People leave military service with very different feelings about their time in uniform. Some speak readily about it. Others have little interest in revisiting those years, particularly with someone they barely know. Pride may sit alongside grief or disappointment. Friendships can endure for a lifetime, as can questions about what happened and why.
The Conversational Power of Music Among Veterans
A song may open a conversation. Maybe it was the one everyone complained about in the barracks, then sang along anyway. Someone else might remember listening through headphones during a long wait, or hearing a recording sent from home. A ridiculous song might bring back a friend more vividly than a formal tribute. A love song might bring back the person waiting at home.
Playing a medley of the armed forces songs is interesting, inspiring, and even surprising. When we listened to the medley, we were surprised to know the words or at least remember the tune to every song. They stir deeply, each bringing back a memory, an image. They do remind us to honor the service of individuals and the corps of fellow citizens who helped ensure and sustain our democracy.
We know how a few bars of music can take us somewhere: to the kitchen of a childhood home, a college roommate, a drive we had almost forgotten. For a veteran, a song from those years may be welcome, painful, or both.
“What did you listen to then?” gives someone room to decide where to begin and how much to share. The answer may have little to do with combat or sacrifice. It may be about being nineteen, missing home, or discovering a musician whose recordings became a lifelong companion.
We would like to hear more of those stories in the ways we observe Veterans Day. A school could invite a veteran to choose a piece of music and talk about its place in their life. A community concert could include songs local veterans suggest, along with the memories they choose to share. At home, a family might listen to a recording together and discover something they had never thought to ask.
How to Respond When Veterans Share Their Stories
We may hear an account that unsettles our assumptions about service. Someone may prefer to talk about the music itself. If they do, we can follow their lead.
Veterans Day also gives the rest of us reason to examine our responsibilities. Freedom, equality, the rule of law, and human dignity depend on what people do in ordinary civic life. Honoring service includes caring for veterans and their families, and considering how faithfully we uphold the ideals we invoke at ceremonies.
This Veterans Day reminds us that we are seeking a more perfect union and that we are one people. With gratitude.
This November, I hope we make time for the familiar tributes and for a few personal songs. After the ceremony, someone beside us may have a story about a recording they’ve kept for fifty years, or a friend who always sang off-key.
The tunes of America reverberate deeply.
