Katie Prior was only ten years old when she learned a difficult lesson about regret. Her great-grandfather, a veteran of World War II, had passed away. Katie, a new trumpet student, had dreamed of playing the solemn, 24-note melody of Taps at his funeral, a final live tribute for a man who served his country. But she hadn’t mastered the song in time. At the service, the haunting bugle call came not from a live instrument, but from a recording. That moment of quiet heartbreak planted a seed in Katie’s mind. She wondered how many other families were left with the same hollow feeling, wanting a live honor for their veteran but finding none available.
Instead of letting her sadness fade, Katie let it fuel a remarkable mission. By age fifteen, she had transformed her personal loss into a national service project. She founded the Youth Trumpet & Taps Corps, a volunteer network that recruits and trains young trumpeters across America to perform Taps live at veterans’ funerals. Her simple, powerful idea addressed a stark reality: with over 1,500 veterans passing away each day in the United States, there are far too few military buglers to provide a live performance at every service. Countless families were, by necessity, relying on digital recordings.
Katie’s vision went beyond just finding musicians. She understood that providing this honor required dignity, respect, and proper training. She developed a full program for her volunteers, teaching them not only the precise notes of Taps but also the solemn etiquette of a military funeral. Young people, typically between 14 and 23 years old, learn how to stand, when to salute, and how to offer quiet comfort to grieving families. This ensures every performance is delivered with the utmost reverence. What began as a Girl Scout project soon grew into a coast-to-coast movement, with hundreds of young musicians joining her cause.
The impact of Katie’s work resonates on two profound levels. For the families of veterans, the sound of a live trumpet carries an immeasurable weight of personal honor and final respect that a speaker cannot replicate. It is a gift of presence in a moment of absence. For the young volunteers, it is a transformative lesson in service, history, and community. They learn that their musical talent can be a profound act of gratitude, connecting them directly to the legacy of those who served. Each performance is a bridge between generations.
Today, Katie’s story stands as a shining example of how compassion, when paired with action, can create enduring change. While she still carries the personal wish that she could have played for her own great-grandfather, she finds a special meaning in every ceremony. Each note played by a Youth Trumpet & Taps Corps volunteer is, in a way, a note played for him, too. Katie Prior turned a moment of youthful regret into a lifelong legacy, ensuring that the final sound honoring a veteran’s service is not a recording, but a live, heartfelt tribute from a grateful new generation.
