Columbus, the Great Italian Uniter of Humankind

Columbus, the Great Italian Uniter of Humankind
by David Trumbull

"Today our Nation honors the legendary Christopher Columbus -- the original American hero, a giant of Western civilization, and one of the most gallant and visionary men to ever walk the face of the earth. This Columbus Day, we honor his life with reverence and gratitude, and we pledge to reclaim his extraordinary legacy of faith, courage, perseverance, and virtue from the left-wing arsonists who have sought to destroy his name and dishonor his memory." --Donald J. Trump, Presidential Proclamation 10980 of October 9, 2025.

"We're back. Columbus Day. We're back, Italians." -- President Trump, October 9, 2025, as reported on Fox News and other news outlets.

Italian-Americans, justly cerebrate Columbus Day in honor of the many benefits that persons of Italian heritage have contributed to our great -- the greatest ever -- Democratic Republic. I would never disparage the worthy honors bestowed on the great Italian navigator. However, Columbus should be a hero for every American and every person on Earth, because Columbus was one of the most important persons in world, not just American, history.

Prehistoric global migration of mankind left the world with two populations, one in the Old World, the other in the New World, each wholly ignorant of the existence of the other. This past Monday we celebrated Columbus Day in honor of his historic voyages that opened communication, commerce, and migration between the Old World of Africa, Asia, and Europe, and the New World of the Americas.

Columbus' voyages of discovery led directly to Spanish settlements in the New World that became, with time, the many Latin-American nations of South, Central and North America and the islands of the Caribbean. The United States, today a sea-to-sea continental nation with citizens and residents whose ancestors lived in every corner of the globe, likewise traces her beginnings to Columbus. As early as 1738 "Columbia" had entered the English tongue as a name for the 13 British colonies in North America that became our original 13 States. Yes, from the birth of our nation it was understood that it all started with Columbus.

That's why Columbus, the global uniter, matters.

The Story of Taps

The Story of Taps
by David Trumbull -- May 22, 2025

This Memorial Day we remember and honor the men and women who died to preserve our freedom. Even as we enjoy kicking off summer however we chose this weekend, that is itself a testimony to their sacrifices, for we enjoy the cookouts, trips to the beach, and so forth because they made it possible. We especially honor those who died for our country when we decorate their graves or participant in patriotic parades and ceremonies this weekend.

At those solemn memorial events in our towns and cities, in our churches and synagogues, and in the halls of our veterans or other lodges, a familiar, haunting melody will mark the day --

The familiar bugle call "Taps" is generally believed to be based on a traditional French call to curfew (from Middle English "curfeu," from Old French "cuevrefeu," meaning cover the fire and turn in for the night).

According to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs the version of those 24 melancholy notes that we know from military funerals was crafted during America's Civil War by Union General Daniel Adams Butterfield, heading a brigade camped at Harrison Landing, Va., near Richmond. This music was made the official Army bugle call after the war, but not given the name "taps" until 1874. The first time taps was played at a military funeral may also have been in Virginia soon after Butterfield composed it. Union Capt. John Tidball, head of an artillery battery, ordered it played for the burial of a cannoneer killed in action. Not wanting to reveal the battery’s position in the woods to the enemy nearby, Tidball substituted taps for the traditional three rifle volleys fired over the grave. Taps was played at the funeral of Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson 10 months after it was composed. Army infantry regulations by 1891 required taps to be played at military funeral ceremonies.

Taps now is played by the military at burial and memorial services, to accompany the lowering of the flag, and to signal the "lights out" command at day's end.