A retired Army veteran spent his Memorial Day weekend playing taps on his bugle 21 times to remember those who served the United States.

Retired 1st Sgt. Richard Pinter, of Bordentown Township, says he wishes every soldier could have a proper burial with live taps played at the gravesite 21 times to symbolize the 21 gun salute echoed at funerals and on the Fourth of July.

Pinter has been playing a solo of taps every Memorial Day, rain or shine, since he retired in 2000.

?While I was playing taps, I got emotionally taken of how many thousands of veterans are buried this year and haven't gotten any honors,? Pinter says.

This June, roughly 3,000 New Jersey reservists will be heading to Iraq, making it the largest deployment since World War II. There are roughly 545,000 veterans living in New Jersey.