David G. Taylor laid to rest

I attended David Taylor’s funeral in Apex, NC on Thursday, November 2. I drove up the day before from Florida and attended the visitation at the funeral home. Surrounding the flag-draped coffin were pictures of David with his wife Michelle and his son Jake. There was a video running with a collection of David’s memories. I watched some of the video from Baghdad, showing off one of Saddam’s palaces.

I talked briefly with David’s brother John; his parents, David and Kay; his father-in-law, Joe Thresher; and his brother-in-law, John Thresher. They were pleased to see so many people. I sat in the chapel for a while watching a slide show, regretting that I hadn’t been more of a shutterbug in my younger years. I had hoped to be able to contribute more to the slide show.

The next day, the funeral was at 11:00 a.m. at Olive Chapel Baptist Church. I was the last to arrive and stood in the back of the church. David’s brother John spoke eloquently about how David had always been supportive, but made him fight his own battles. He talked about David’s penchant for mischief and ability to get away with almost anything. He talked about his brother’s matter-of-fact approach to the world. In John’s words, “He was plain-spoken, practical and he took care of business.”

Major George Coppit, who has known David since high school, spoke next. George is a spinal surgeon at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D. C. George talked about David’s ability to get away with outrageous mischief. George has stayed close with David over the years and he shared some memories.

Major Mike Peters knows David through the military. He talked of David’s military career, his patriotism, and his love for his soldiers. Mike told about David’s modesty and how he liked to exaggerate stories about David just to push his buttons. Now those exaggerated stories have replaced the truth and most of what he remembers of David is legends.

Dale Brooks was the last friend to offer remembrances of David at the service. I knew her in earlier times as Dale Chapman, leader of Club Beyond, a Christian youth group. She asked some tough questions. “Why David? Why now?” She brought a Christian perspective to answering those questions.

One lasting thought from the service was this. “Only two people have every offered to die for you. One was Jesus Christ and the other is the American GI. One died for your soul, the other died for your freedom.”

We walked from the church to the cemetery outside where volunteers from the Patriot Guard ringed the grave site holding American flags. I was too far from the casket to hear the words offered by the preacher. The military honor guard gave David a respectful military sendoff and presented the American flag to David’s family.

Afterward we went to the fellowship hall and ate and met up with old friends.

Many of us wanted to know what we could do to help support David’s family, especially his widow and young son. There are three things the family has requested.

1. Thank a soldier, a police officer, a firefighter–the people who put themselves in harms way to protect and defend us every day.

2. Give to the David Taylor Memorial Gift o Dave’s alma mater, Davidson College. This fund was established at Michelle’s request. If you would like to contribute you can send your gift to:

Davidson College
Att: James Gibert
P.O. Box 7177
Davidson, NC 28035

Checks can be made payable to Davidson College. You can also contribute by phone - 704-894-2469
3. David’s family has asked us to share stories of David’s life, so they can catalog them and share them with his son, Jacob. Email your stories to dgtaylorjr@aol.com That’s going to be one great collection of stories about one great man.

Chris Sands

From the David G. Taylor memorial page

Major killed by bomb felt drawn to serve

David G. Taylor Jr. wasn't satisfied to simply serve his country in Iraq. This summer, he asked to get closer to the danger and volunteered to supervise Army troops patrolling southern Baghdad.
A roadside bomb blasted through the 37-year-old Army major's Humvee on Sunday, killing him instantly.

"I knew things were cranking up over there," his mother, Kay Taylor, said Wednesday evening from her mother's home outside Apex. "We weren't surprised, but what a damn shame. What a loss."

Taylor, who considered his grandparents' farm in western Wake County his second home, became a father four months ago. He flew home from Iraq this summer to be with his wife, Michelle, during childbirth. Jake was less than 2 weeks old the last time Taylor held him.

Taylor continued a family tradition of soldiering. Both his grandfathers served in World War II, and his father completed two tours in Vietnam, spending his entire career with the Army.

Since his family traveled the globe with the military, Taylor found his grandparents' farm in Wake County an anchor. As a teenager, he spent summers driving tractors around John and Doris Overman's tobacco and dairy farm. That's where he earned enough Boy Scout badges to become an Eagle Scout at age 13, his mother said.

After high school in Germany, Taylor attended Davidson College in Mecklenburg County on an ROTC scholarship. He became an officer in the Army after graduation and planned to spend his career with the military.

Kay Taylor said her son felt drawn to serve in Iraq, particularly because he knew he was to be a father. "He thought the Americans needed to be there to give the Iraqi children the future of democracy," she said. "He really felt that what he was doing there was the right thing."

Taylor often patrolled the streets with the soldiers he supervised. On Sunday, he was training new arrivals when the Humvee he drove hit the homemade bomb, his mother said.

Taylor wasn't one for pomp and circumstance. After his body arrives from Iraq in a few days, a friend will escort his casket to Apex. The family will say a quiet goodbye and help him settle into his grave site near his late grandfather, John Overman.

Taylor is survived by his wife, Michelle Thresher Taylor; his 4-month-old son, Jacob David Jude Taylor; his parents, Kay and David Taylor of London, England; his brother, John K. Taylor of Yokosuka, Japan; and his maternal grandmother, Doris G. Overman of Apex.

From the News Observer

Related Link:
David G. Taylor killed by I.E.D.