Military Vet Barred From Playing "Taps" On His Porch, Deemed A "Nuisance"

Retired Lieutenant Commander Joshua Corney is quite proud of his 20-year-career in the US Navy, which included stops in Iraq and Afghanistan. As he explains it, he made a promise to himself during one of those tours, and he has lived up to it since returning home for good.

As the Independent Journal Review shares, the town council of Glen Rock, Pennsylvania has put a stop to it, and he will no longer be able to do so.

Every night like clockwork, Corney would belt out a rendition of the military bugle call ‘Taps.’ It was his simple way of paying tribute to those that serve their country, and many neighbors seemed to enjoy it.

“At one point, I made a promise to God that if he brought me home safe and sound that I would do something in remembrance of those that had fallen while I was there, but to also those who have died in past wars and people who will die in future wars,” he has previously commented.

One neighbor and fellow military veteran was a pretty big fan of Corney’s little tribute.

“It makes me take a moment and think of how fortunate I am,” the neighbor said.

Corney is a member of the town council, so he was pretty surprised when it was brought to his attention that his little ditty had become an issue.

“I take 57 seconds out of each day to show our community and our country that we stand behind the men and women of this country and what they do on a day-to-day basis, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, that's what this is for,” he said.

Apparently several complaints were lodged, and the town council decided they had to vote on the issue. Corney was absent from that meeting as he was recovering from surgery, but the rest of the council unanimously voted to restrict his playing to Sundays and holidays in accordance with a nuisance ordinance.

“I have served overseas to fight for their freedoms back here and I needed them to help me fight for something that I feel they have embraced and they want in their community,” he said.

Corney is pretty ticked that the matter was voted on without him being present, and some other neighbors have taken up the cause on his behalf. An online petition has been started to overturn the ruling, and it notes that the hope is “to protect its playing from violation of any Glen Rock ordinance as an accepted patriotic town tradition.”

The petition has attracted some serious interest, and Corney does have the option of appealing the decision.

We’ll have to wait and see how this one plays out, but this certainly sounds like an issue that could’ve been resolved without an ordinance. If there were specific complaints about his playing, then Corney should have been made aware of them.

That being said, he should also be open-minded enough to consider that not everyone wants to hear 'Taps' every single night.

Source: Independent Journal Review
Photos: York Daily Record, YouTube Screenshots, U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Geoffrey P. Barham Generic Photo