Last Post

This page is dedicated to all the F Troopers who have
joined their F Troop brothers who gave the ultimate.

Come home! Come home! The last post is sounding
for you to hear. All good soldiers know very well there
is nothing to fear while they do what is right, and forget
all the worries they have met in their duties through the
year. A soldier cannot always be great, but he can be a
gentleman and he can be a right good pal to his comrades in
his squad. So all you soldiers listen to this – Deal fair by all
and you’ll never be amiss.

Name	Date	Home State	Year in Viet Nam
Dave Morris	20 June 2005	Essex CT	1966 - 67
John Depew	23 Nov 2003	Reading PA	1966 - 67
Clyde Roan	3 June 1996	Clearwater FL	1966 - 67
Dan Torenson
Bill Rosenthal
Jerry Cox	1995	Loris SC	1966-67
Jerry Buchanan	1999	Smithfield VA
Robert Sives	21 Oct 2002	Sumerville IN	1966-67
Ron Davis	11 Oct 2005	Fountain City, IN
Paul M. Martinetti	9 Sept 1998	Milwaukee WI	1966-67
Hal Turner		Metroplis Il	1966-67
Gary Potter	7 Oct 1984		1968-69
George Lee Spivey	9 Aug 2003		1967-68
Eugene Rommel	14 Jan 2006	Ocean Shores WA	1966-67
Robert Thomason	2005		1970
Ron Dixon	17 May 2009	Davisville WV	1966-67
William Kachelmyer	5 July 2009	University Place, WA	1966-67
Charles E. Tighe JR	2006	Rivervale NJ	1966-67
James W Hale Jr	2 September 2010	Elizabethtown KY
Ronald L. Bowen	September 2010
Duane J. Zenter	1978	Mott ND
Robert H. Kallenbach Jr	1993
Gene C. Bass	2003		1969
Harvey Sexton	1996		1968-69
John J. Plisitz	1991
Charles M. Hanus	2009
John Cooper	2008	FL	1968-69
Gary W. Marin	2008		1969-70
Jerry M. Buchanan	2005		1968-69
Lowery C. Coleman	2010	AR
Jerry E. Ernst	1996	IN
Alan L. Jansma	1981	NY	1968-1969
Alfred Hill	2004	SC
George S Middleton	2010
Ronald S. Beck	2009
Harold D. Winger	2008
Charles Ramsey	1988		1969-1970
Roy S. Parsons	2001
Donald "Don" E. Ramser	2011		1968-1969
Michael P. Sampey	2009
William W. Moore	September 2010	TN	1970-1971

Origin of "The Last Post"

The Last Post is one of a number of bugle calls in military tradition which mark the phases of the day. Where "Reveille" signaled the start of a soldier's day, the "Last Post" signaled its end. It is believed originally to have been part of a more elaborate routine, known in the British Army as "tattoo", that had its origins in the 17th century. During the evening, a duty officer had to do the rounds of his unit's position, checking that the sentry posts were manned and rounding up the off-duty soldiers and packing them off to their beds or billets. He would be accompanied by one or more musicians.

The "first post" was sounded when the duty officer started his rounds and, as the party proceeded from post to post, a drum was played. The drum beats told off-duty soldiers it was time to rest - if the soldiers were billeted in a town, the beats told them it was time to quit the pubs. "Tattoo" is a derivation of doe den tap toe, Dutch for "turn off the taps", a call which is said to have followed the drum beats in many a Dutch pub while English armies were campaigning through Holland and Flanders in the 1690s. (It is also from this routine that American practice of "taps" or "drum taps" originated.)

Another bugle call was sounded when the party completed their rounds, when they reached the "last post": this signaled the night sentries were alert at their posts and gave one last warning to any soldiers still at large that it was time to retire for the evening. "Last Post" was incorporated into funeral and memorial services as a final farewell and symbolises that the duty of the dead is over and that they can rest in peace.