S. Tahoe resident becomes model for Army statue

Even though South Lake Tahoe resident Jesse Tubb is on active duty with the Army, he is never leaving Arlington National Cemetery.

On Sunday, a statue honoring the Army’s buglers will be unveiled. The cast of the statue is of Tubb.

The 36-year-old staff sergeant is a member of the U.S. Army Band. Part of his job is to play Taps on his bugle at military funerals. The statue is to honor that iconic symbol — the bugler.

Staff Sgt. Jesse Tubb of South Lake Tahoe, right, begins the second phase of the statue casting process. Photo/Provided

Tubb traveled to New York City four months ago for the casting session.

“They cast me in three sections. They did my head first, and they completely encase it. It took about 15 minutes. Then they did the lower body and the upper body,” Tubb said in a press release. “When the head was done, [there] was complete sensory deprivation. They cleared away two little spots for the nose [to breathe] and that’s all I had. They put this seaweed composite material [on me], and then it got wrapped in plaster strips.”

The statue will be something people will see when they first walk into the visitors center.

 — Lake Tahoe News staff report