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SSgt Karl G. Taylor, Sr. Detachment 1084 | ||
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Commandant's Greeting
| Who Are
We?
| Who is
SSgt Karl G. Taylor,
Sr.?
| What
is the League?
| Mission
Statement
| Handout Flyer
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We are the Marine Corps League, SSgt Karl G. Taylor, Sr. Detachment 1084. We are a fraternal organization comprised of Marines, former Marines, and people interested in bonding with Marines and former Marines. Our home base is Howard County, Maryland. For more information on who is eligible for membership, follow this link to the Requirements for Membership page.
Karl Gorman Taylor, Sr., was born July 14, 1939, in Laurel, Howard County, Maryland. He graduated from Arundel Junior High School in 1953, then attended Arundel Senior High School for three years (1953-1956). After leaving high school, he was employed by a construction company as a Tournapull-Scraper Operator. In 1961, he received a high school equivalency test from the Armed Forces Institute in Madison, Wisconsin.
He enlisted in the Marine Corps along with his brother, Walter William Taylor, at the Recruiting Station, Baltimore, Maryland, on January 15, 1959. Upon completion of recruit training with the 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, Recruit Training regiment, Parris Island, South Carolina, he went on to Infantry Combat Training with the 1st Infantry Training Regiment, Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. After completing Infantry Training in July 1959, he was assigned duty as a rifleman, section leader, and a platoon guide, successively, with Company A, 1st Battalion (Rein), 6th Marines, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, Camp Lejeune.
From January until February 1962 he attended the Drill Instructor School at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina, then served as Drill Instructor of the 2nd Recruit Training Battalion, Recruit Training Regiment, Recruit Depot, Parris Island, until January 1963. Shown below is Junior Drill Instructor Corporal Taylor with Platoon 223 on June 29, 1962.
The above photos were provided by Ralph Horan on November 18, 2016. Mr. Horan was a recruit with Platoon 223. Fifty-three years later, he still remembers Junior Drill Instructor Corporal Taylor well:
Corporal Taylor, our junior drill instructor - really had our best interest at heart and it showed. He was tough when he had to be but fair all the time with a lighter side visible during our final three weeks. SSgt. Taylor is a memory I'll always keep in a special place...I believe I became a better Marine because of him. All through boot camp, I and the rest of Platoon 223 respected his quiet confident direction - he was one of the good ones.
Not discounting his well deserved honor and his receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor - but - if he were still alive and with us today, I would thank him for his counsel as well as his fair, disciplined, and being the great example to those of us he taught and led. Grateful for all he did, his ultimate and heroic sacrifice, he was, through his last breath, a leader of Marines...looking back and for whatever it's worth, I can say he made me and many others...a little better.
After this enlistment tour was over, Staff Sergeant Taylor returned to inactive duty for three months and was with the 4th Marine Corps Reserve and Recruitment District, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On March 26, 1963, he returned to active duty at Quantico, Virginia, and served as Assistant Police Sergeant and later, Police Sergeant, Guard Company, Service Battalion, Marine Corps Schools.
Transferred to the 3rd Marine Division (Rein), in August 1964, Staff Sergeant Taylor saw a one year tour of duty as Rocket Section Leader and Platoon Guide, with Company G, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. Reassigned to Sub Unit #2, Headquarters Company, Headquarters and Service Battalion, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific, in August 1965, he served as Instructor, Non-commissioned Officer (NCO) Leadership School until the following November.
Upon his return to the United States in January 1966, Staff Sergeant Taylor returned to the Marine Corps Schools, Quantico, for duty as Candidate Company Platoon Sergeant and Platoon Sergeant of Company A, Officer Candidate School. Staff Sergeant Taylor appears in the front row on the far right. In the front row, second from left is Joe Boyle, who provided us this photo on September 25, 2018. The names of the various member of the platoon are listed here.
In February 1968, he returned to the Far East and the 3rd Marine Division (Rein), Fleet Marine Force, this time for duty as Platoon Sergeant and Company Gunnery Sergeant of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 26th Marine Regiment.
Staff Sergeant Taylor was cited for his courage and inspiring leadership on December 8, 1968 during Operation Meade River when he charged across an open rice paddy toward an enemy machine gun position. Firing a grenade launcher as he ran and in full view of the enemy, Staff Sergeant Taylor succeeded in reaching the machine gun bunker and silenced the enemy fire moments before he fell mortally wounded. For more information about Operation Meade River, read
Leatherneck, August 2017 - "For Their Gallantry and Intrepidity" The Marines of 3/26 in Operation Meade River
Vietnam Veterans of America - Operation Meade River: The Largest Helicopter-Borne Combat Operation in Marine Corps History
President Richard M. Nixon awarded posthumously the Medal of Honor to the family of Staff Sergeant Karl G. Taylor during a joint-service ceremony at the White House on February 16, 1971.
His Medal of Honor citation reads:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his
life above and beyond the call of duty while serving at night as a
company gunnery sergeant during Operation MEADE RIVER. Informed that
the commander of the lead platoon had been mortally wounded when his
unit was pinned down by a heavy volume of enemy fire, SSgt Taylor along
with another marine, crawled forward to the beleaguered unit through a
hail of hostile fire, shouted encouragement and instructions to the
men, and deployed them to covered positions. With his companion, he
then repeatedly maneuvered across an open area to rescue those marines
who were too seriously wounded
to move by themselves. Upon learning that there were still other
seriously wounded men lying in another open area, in proximity to an
enemy machinegun position, SSgt Taylor, accompanied by four comrades,
led his men forward across the fire-swept terrain in an attempt to
rescue the marines. When his group was halted by devastating fire, he
directed his companions to return to the company command post;
whereupon he took his grenade launcher and in full view of the enemy,
charged across the open rice paddy toward the machinegun position,
firing his weapon as he ran. Although wounded several times, he
succeeded in reaching the machinegun bunker and silencing the fire from
that sector, moments before he was mortally wounded. Directly
instrumental in saving the lives of several of his fellow marines, SSgt
Taylor, by his indomitable courage, inspiring leadership, and selfless
dedication, upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and of
the U.S. Naval Service.
From "United States of America's Congressional Medal of Honor
Recipients and their Official Citations" published by Highland
Publishers, 1980, and Highland House II, 1994.
Staff Sergeant Taylor was the husband of the former Shirley Ann Piatt and the father of 3 children Karl G. Jr., Kevin G., and Sheryl A. He was the son of Arthur G. and Anna H. Taylor.
Staff Sergeant Taylor trained, evaluated, and screened many future officers before he departed to Vietnam on his second tour. His memory will always live on, as his name is honored even to this day. On July 21, 2006, a new Officer Candidate School (OCS) Bachelor Enlisted Quarters (BEQ) was named "Taylor Hall" in honor of Staff Sergeant Taylor. This was the last duty station at which he and his bride Shirley were together.
Staff Sergeant Taylor is forever immortalized on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (the Wall) in Washington D.C. The below photo was provided by Ralph Horan on May 9, 2017.
SSgt Taylor's heroism inspired many. The beautiful artistic homage to our detachment's namesake shown below was created by Steve Ryan. Steve and his father have been Marine Corps League life members since 1992. Steve served as a combat photographer from 1988 to 1992. As a Medal of Honor history enthusiast, Steve has created approximately 200 of these tributes. Well done Steve and Semper Fi!
For more information about SSgt Karl G. Taylor, Sr., see
Officer Candidates School dedicates barracks to fallen Vietnam Veteran
YouTube - A tribute to SSgt Karl G. Taylor, Sr. Vietnam Veteran
The Purple Foxes - SSgt. Karl G. Taylor
The Marine Corps League consists of former, current, and
retired Marines who come together in the spirit of
Camaraderie
Community Service
Love of Country and Corps
Patriotism
The Marine Corps League operates at many levels in the same way a
platoon is part of a company and a company is part of a batallion. The
smallest level is the detachment. Our detachment is under the
Department of Maryland, which is under the Mid-East Division, which is
under the National level.
Members of the Marine Corps League join together in
camaraderie and fellowship for the purpose of preserving the traditions
and promoting the interests of the United States Marine Corps. This is
accomplished by banding together those who are now serving
in the United States Marine Corps and those who have been honorably
discharged from that service; voluntarily aiding and rendering
assistance to all Marines and former Marines and to their widows and
orphans; and by perpetuating the history of the United States
Marine Corps through fitting acts to observe the anniversaries of
historical occasions of particular interest to Marines.
Click here to pull up a color Z-fold detachment information sheet in a new window, suitable for passing onto prospective members. Click here for a black and white version, cheaper for printing.
If you are unable to view the information sheet, download and install Adobe Reader.
Click the below to pull up a national information sheet in a new window, suitable for passing onto prospective members. Fold along the stars to turn into a snappy tri-fold pamphlet.
General information (might be a little outdated)
Oath and application for membership as of 2014
If you are unable to view the information sheet, download and install Adobe Reader.
Semper Fi!