VIETNAM:
40 YEARS AGO
A Marine Hero’s Legacy:
“His Family Remembers”
By Duane Crawford
The low, rolling hills and wooded
valleys of western Pennsylvania
present a picturesque view for visitors any time of the year.
Proud and patriotic, the folks of tiny
Avella, Pa., are descendants of hardwork-ing coal miners, whose livelihood meant
enduring years of sweat, dirt, darkness and
danger to keep America’s industries running. There are no coal mines now. There
are no expensive homes, no shopping centers, no signs of wealth. Instead, there is
peace and tranquility.
Avella also is the home of a Marine
hero’s widow and children.
During December 2008, 40 years will
have passed since one of Avella’s finest
was mortally wounded on one of Vietnam’s
many battlefields. Webster’s New World
Dictionary defines a hero as “a man of
great strength and courage, favored by the
gods and in part descended from them.”
Staff Sergeant Karl Gorman Taylor Sr.
embodied these words. As the only member of the 26th Marine Regiment to be
awarded the Medal of Honor during the
Vietnam War, SSgt Taylor’s conspicuous
gallantry and intrepidity has never been
forgotten.
On a lovely spring day, two members
of SSgt Taylor’s Marine Corps family
journeyed to Avella to meet the Taylor
family and to remember their brother in
arms. Retired Captain Ron Hoover had
been commanding officer of “India” Company, 3d Battalion, 26th Marine Regiment
during the early days of December 1968.
Richard Townsend, then a private first
class, had been one of the company’s radio
operators.
Sitting among a group of modest houses
on a ridge overlooking scenic valleys, the
Taylor home, like others in Avella, had an
American flag flying in the yard. Shirley
Ann Taylor warmly greeted her guests
and invited them into her small but homey
kitchen.
The Taylor family consists of two sons
and a daughter. Karl Taylor Jr., the oldest
of the boys; his wife, Diane; and son,
camp. Following recruit training at Camp
Lejeune, N.C., Taylor was assigned to Alpha Co, 1st Bn, 6th Marines. He participated in Mediterranean and Caribbean
cruises, performing various infantry duties.
During his stint with the Second Marine Division, he met and soon married
Shirley Ann Piatt from Avella. Haltingly,
Shirley said: “Karl loved the Corps, but he
found time for his family. He was considerate, a disciplinarian, a very good father.”
Because he realized that Marine drill
instructors personify the best of the Corps,
he asked for and was accepted to DI
School at Parris Island in 1961. He was a
corporal. “Being a DI’s wife was stressful
duty,” Shirley recalled. “Hours were terribly long for Karl, and he had duty every
other day. Marine wives don’t complain,
and I didn’t.”
USMC
His core values were apparent on the
drill field. Retired Sergeant Major Pete
Seagriff remembers Cpl Taylor as extremely fair but firm and revered by every
recruit.
Cpl Taylor and Sergeant Joseph J. McGinty were junior DIs of Platoon 258 in
the 2d Recruit Training Bn. Sgt McGinty
won the Medal of Honor in 1966, while
serving with the 3d Bn, 4th Marines. He
later was commissioned. Sgt Ron Hoover
was a DI in the 1st Bn. He, too, was commissioned from the enlisted ranks. In their
wildest dreams, Sgt Hoover and Cpl Taylor never could have imagined being linked
together in Vietnam in 1968.
During August 1964, SSgt Taylor began
a tour on Okinawa with Golf Co, 2d Bn,
3d Marines. After the decision was made
to send Marine ground forces to Vietnam,
the battalion was one of the first to land
at Da Nang in early 1965.
Upon his return to the States, Taylor was
sent to Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va.
Assigned to Officer Candidates School,
his exemplary leadership skills and combat experience helped in training future officers for Vietnam. Like all career Marines
at the time, he knew another Vietnam tour
was inevitable.
SSgt Karl Gorman Taylor Sr.
Steven, were there. Powerfully built and
square-jawed like his dad, Karl proudly
pointed out the framed Medal of Honor
and pictures of the Taylor kids and grand-kids that are displayed in the living room.
Sheryl is the oldest and then Karl. Kevin,
the youngest, followed in his dad’s footsteps and became a Marine.
On one corner of a wall, a large, beautiful portrait of SSgt Karl Taylor in his
dress blues and wearing the Medal of
Honor is displayed prominently. The painting shows his rugged determination, indomitable spirit and modest pride. “From
a picture of Dad in his blues, a friend did
the painting,” Karl Jr. explained.
To the two members of her husband’s
Marine family, Shirley Taylor began to describe the Marine she’d married and lost to
war. Born 14 July 1949, in Laurel, Md.,
SSgt Taylor dropped out of high school
after three years. “His family needed the
money,” Shirley admitted. “Later, he saw
the value of education and received a high-school equivalency diploma.”
Because service to country was considered a duty in the Taylor family, Karl
Sr. and his brother enlisted in the Marine
Corps on 15 Jan. 1959. They were promptly sent to Parris Island, S.C., for boot
