Warren Quirk honors veterans by playing taps at funerals

People always cry when Warren Quirk raises his trumpet in song. That's because Quirk channels so much emotion through his shiny brass instrument - and because the song that's his specialty is one of one of most mournful tunes this country knows.

He plays taps.

Quirk is the sharply uniformed man at military funerals and patriotic events who thanks fallen veterans with the heart-rending cry of his trumpet. He begins to play as flags blow in the breeze, hands cross over hearts and people quietly stand, listen - and try not to cry.

Quirk shared what he feels when he plays.

"I'm feeling an emotional burst of both sadness and joy. I'm feeling both life and death, which we need to embrace."

And those emotions are what Quirk transforms into the music he sends out into the breeze.

"It's like I'm taking in a breath to blow and I'm letting my emotions go back out with it. I let the people know what I'm feeling by blowing it back out."

But touching people's hearts isn't Quirk's only goal as a taps trumpeter, nor is it his main goal. He's standing out there in that graveyard, park or church to relay a special thanks to a most precious band of heroes: America's fallen veterans.

"I want to give them a part of me that no one else can have. I share a special part of my emotional spirit that I can share only by playing. I just want to show our dead that they are not alone, that just as they were there for their comrades before, the present and the future will be there for them through eternity."

That special gift to veterans is very much in demand, too. Quirk plays taps at about eight funerals or other events each month. People seek him out because they adore his music and appreciate the fact that he may be the only local trumpeter who plays the song live instead of a recording.

"It's actually getting a lot more rare to hear taps live. It's just easier to push a button," Quirk said with regret, stressing his reasons for wanting to keep his performances real. "I want to show the people I am honoring 'You're worth more than a cassette. You are worth my taking time to play for you.'"

When fallen veterans hear Quirk's tribute, they are hearing from a comrade. Quirk retired as a gunnery sergeant from the U.S. Marine Corps in 1997. He spent most of his career right here in Yuma.

Quirk first picked up a trumpet as a kid growing up in Indianapolis. That's where a young Quirk dug the music of Louie Armstrong and dreamed of one day being a big-time musician.

"I thought I could play just as good as he could!" Quirk remembered, laughing.

Quirk rediscovered the trumpet two years ago after he heard "Taps" played at a funeral and he honestly thought he could do better.

He practiced a lot and quickly started getting invitations to perform his solemn honor.

He quickly discovered a parallel between the wail of the song and the wail of a dying person, the parallel between his breath and the fallen veteran. Using that knowledge in his favor helps him connect with audiences at an even deeper level.

"Sometimes you'll hear a little wobbling sound, to show that there is a crying sense. It's like I'm giving you my last breath. When you draw the note out, it's like I'm trying to delay him leaving. With that delay, you get additional emotion."

And people are loving what they hear.

"I just want to give them release, give them closure," Quirk said with clear satisfaction. "These people we are honoring gave their lives to serving this country. This is my way of giving them one final thank you."

---

Warren Quirk grew up around kids who preferred dealing drugs to doing homework.

That's why Quirk held one goal close to his heart throughout high school back in Indianapolis: He dreamed of escaping to a better life.

"I wanted more for myself," Quirk said with pride. "None of my cousins graduated from high school - none of them. I can say with certainty that my graduating class - the guys I used to hang around with - are either dead or in jail."

But Quirk worked hard did much more than just graduate. He excelled academically and created for himself an impressive career in computers before he got his diploma.

"I loved the problem solving with computers. The work can be complicated, which just intrigued me even more."

A teacher helped Quirk land an interview with the nearby U.S. Navy Avionics Center. He was hired as a computer accountant, a job that in spite of his age gave him the intimidating task of confronting much older and more powerful military men when his accounting books didn't balance.

He next worked as a computer operator for a Chevrolet plant, herding hoppers filled with the thousands of punchcards needed to run just a single program on a computer the size of an entire room.

But Quirk didn't stop at this before graduating from high school in 1977. He joined the Marine Corps at 17, which required his mother's signature on the papers.

"I was set that my parents weren't going to put me through college. I was going to do it on my own."

The GI Bill and its promise of an education drew him to the military, but so did the dream of escaping that rough lifestyle he refused to accept.

Quirk ended up graduating boot camp before high school. By graduation night, he had already continued on to infantry training school at Camp Pendleton near San Diego. He later performed barracks duty for five years, which had him helping to guard a military installation.

Quirk then went to sniper school - "I love weapons!" - then to air defense school, where he learned his ultimate job of air defense controller.

He moved to Yuma in 1982. He's lived here ever since, but with a few interesting and exotic exceptions: For three years, Quirk performed security duty at embassy or consulate locations in Casablanca, Morocco; Paris; and Germany.

Quirk admitted that the much-coveted job was as glamorous as it sounds, being around important diplomats and exotic royalty. But he stressed the dangers of such duty as well.

"Plus, it was no fun sticking out all the time, either. When you're driving around with diplomat plates and 3/4-inch glass, people tend to notice."

His favorite assignment of the three was Paris, with Germany trailing far in the end.

"The people of Paris are so carefree. It was amazing to see how open-minded they are. They have no prejudices at all."

Quirk returned to Yuma, got out of the military, and went to work for the Excel Group. He runs the mental health company's mobile crisis team and oversees a crisis prevention team and Excel's inpatient and group homes.

He discovered his love for social services while in the military. He worked for the Yuma base's substance abuse program during his term. He also worked part time for a local men's treatment center and oversaw prevention programs for the Quechan and Cocopah tribes.