Harold T. Taylor

Harold T. Taylor
Born March 18,1926, he was called to his heavenly home, by the Lord Jesus Christ, June 27, 2016, after serving him here on earth for 90 years.
Being afraid WWII would be over before he could serve, Harold persuaded his mother to sign for him so he could enlist. At age 17, on Dec. 23, 1943 he entered boot camp in San Diego. After training, he was in the First Marine Division at Russell Island, part of the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific In Sept. 1944, the First Marine Division invaded Peleliu. The men went in on a DUWK that caught fire from the steady stream of artillery from the enemy. They had to jump overboard one fourth mile from shore. While swimming to shore, with his backpack, the waves kept pushing Hal back and the sizzle of shells hitting the water all around him added to the extraordinary feat of arriving unharmed on shore. They won against the Japanese and later the Island was secured.
In April 1945, the First Marine Div. invaded Okinawa. His duty on both Islands was communications, calling in naval gunfire and air strikes on enemy positions, the radios ran off hand-cracked generators. He said his hand got awfully tired sometimes.
The day after the invasion, Hal and an assigned rifleman, took the radio jeep ashore from the LST. There were two roads, so Hal walked down to the Unit to find our which road he needed to take in order to deliver the jeep. He told the rifleman to stay with the jeep. While talking to the CO, they heard an explosion. Running to the site, they found that an Infantry Unit had told the rifleman to get the jeep to the side of the rode in order to pass. The jeep hit a mine and was blown up. Harold’s backpack disappeared in the explosion, the rifleman was killed. A land mine detector later discovered, by following the tracks where the jeep had traveled, that it had gone around numerous mines! God preserved Hal’s life once again. Remarkably, his backpack was later found and his billfold was sent home. He was thought to be dead by his family!
While in Okinawa, Harold got permission to visit his brother Bud, who was in the Sixth Marine division. They were visiting on a knoll. A Japanese plane came strafing the knoll from one side to the other. The brothers ran from one side of the knoll to the other, repeatedly, evading the gunfire. A Marine fighter Corsair came over and hit the plane. Harold and Bud rooted for the Jap to bail out be he didn’t. When he returned to base, they had him listed as AWOL, as they didn’t know he had been running for his life. Eventually it was straightened out.
Sept 2, 1945, at the end of the war, the Japanese would not surrender to the Chinese but formally surrendered to the US aboard the USS Missouri.
Hal was in Tinsin and Peking China until returning home to Mount Olive, Illinois in 1945. He turned 21 aboard ship to the States, passing over the International Dateline Meridian, so he had two birthdays!
Hal was discharged April 5, 1946. He went into the reserves and finished his last two years of high school.
He reenlisted for the Korean War. During that time, he chauffeured the Colonel and was an administrator. After going to recruiting school, he was transferred to Richmond Indiana where he was top recruiter for three years. With such distinction, his tour was extended, an unusual recognition in a highly competitive and coveted post.
At Camp Pendleton, he was prepared for overseas duty in Okinawa and Japan, where he served for three years as an administrator.
During his tours, he competed on the US MC Rifle and Pistol teams, receiving the Rifle Expert badge, and Pistol Sharpshooter Badge.
Hal was recruiting in St. Louis, for four years, where he met the love of his life, Florence. They married and moved to Cherry Point, NC and he was assigned Administrative Chief for the VMF for two years. In Oct. 1964, after being chosen to be in charge of the Marine Security Guard at our American Embassy in Port Au Prince Haiti, the couple was sent to the island of Hispanola. They were there for two years after which Harold retired from the Marine Corp in 1966 with an honorable discharge.
Our American Embassy in Port Au Prince Haiti
In all, Hal served 19 years, 6 month, 17 days plus two years of Embassy duty, retiring as Gunnery Sergeant Oct. 31, 1966. Harold said that the highlight of his service was “The honor of serving my country. Seeing so many different parts of the world and serving Embassy duty.” He also said that the most important lesson he learned was “The importance of being united, also respect of self and being respectful of others.”
After retiring from the Marine Corps, he gleaned experience from computer programming. Selling appealed to him, so he embarked on a career with Aid Association for Lutherans ( AAL - a fraternal insurance company) on June 1968 with the Precht Agency in Decatur Illinois. After six months of work, he qualified for the President Club in 1969. Within his first year, he sold one million dollars’ worth of insurance certificates. Hal was a high achiever and received many awards. He was asked to become a general agent in Canton Ohio (he said “where is Canton?”) In 1972, the couple, along with their children Gregory and Kathryn, moved to their current address. Being a hard worker, putting in numerous hours, in an underdeveloped insurance area, he achieved additional awards from AAL. The Taylor Agency reached one hundred million dollars career volume on May 23, 1983. In 1986, the branch 4313 from Holy Cross was selected one of the top five branches in the nation to receive the prestigious National Fraternal Award. On January 30, 1988, Harold retired from AAL after 20 years of faithful service. This was a rewarding career dealing with a Christian principled company, working to help Christian people financially.
While at Holy Cross, he served in numerous positions.
My husband, Harold was a principled man, serving mankind with the abilities given him by God. Upon meeting him, my mother had written, “I believe he is the right man for my Florence.” Just 3 months shy of 54 years of marriage, I can say he was the love of my life. Lord Jesus, I look forward to being in heaven with him when it is my time to die”
Flo