Taps is played on the Oval, 1942

During World War I, taps was sounded each evening at 4:30 on the Oval as a “goodnight” to the University men in service.  After the Armistice was signed, the custom was changed to once a week in memory of those who had died during the war.  On Wednesday mornings, taps was played and everyone on campus stopped to pay honor to the servicemen.

This happened weekly until 1963 when the ceremony was changed to a monthly activity.  It then became a yearly service and was renamed the Memorial Rock Ceremony.  The ceremony is conducted in front of Bricker Hall at the boulder which includes a plaque honoring those who served in World War I.  The ceremony is held on or near Veterans Day, November 11, every year.

Veteran's Day ceremony at the Memorial Rock, 1957

This year, on Nov. 3, cadets from the three Ohio State ROTC units (Army, Navy, and Air Force) conducted a 20-minute ceremony outside Bricker Hall, placing a wreath at the rock dedicated to Ohio State’s World War I veterans., Taps was played, followed by a 21-gun salute.