The Astonished Piper

Speaking as a "friend of the piper," I just saw the Longest Day again, particularly the section where the piper, who has just been greeted with disbelief, newly greets in disbelief a local French marshal riding up on a bike in a brass helmet. This may be the most empathetic moment towards a piper ever filmed, including an incredibly rare Bagpiper Point of View (BPOV) shot. Rarely does cinema lets us inside the piper's head, which is a shame really, because there is no better noise to indicate astonishment than the sound of a bagpipe deflating mid-song, nor better person to mirror war than the man pegged to simulataneously inspire, soothe, grieve and intimidate.

It is difficult to think of any other instrument played normally in battle in the 20 century, except of course the 1962 Lockheed Mezzo-Soprano Intercontinental Ballistic Missile.