TOPEKA (KSNT) — Retired Air Force Captain Herschel Stroud picked up his bugle, moved it to his mouth and rang out 24 notes that every military member knows during a ceremony on Memorial Day.

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Stroud may have been a solo performer Monday afternoon, but the 95-year-old wasn’t alone. Musicians — professional and amateur alike — came together across the country on Memorial Day to play the call honoring fallen military members. The tradition started during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to bring people together even when they had to be apart.