Good morning . Ladies and gentlemen ,
welcome to the Medal of Honor induction
ceremony in honor of Captain Larry L
Taylor . Captain Taylor was presented
our nation's highest and most
prestigious award for valor by the
president of the United States . The
medal of honor this morning , he will
formally be inducted into the
Pentagon's most sacred place . The Hall
of Heroes . Our official party for
today's ceremony includes the Secretary
of Defense , the honorable Lloyd J
Austin the third , the Secretary of the
Army , the honorable Christine E Warmth ,
the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff General , Mark A Millie , the
vice chief of Staff of the Army General
Randy A George and the sergeant major
of the army , Michael R Weimer . Ladies
and gentlemen , please stand for the
arrival of the official party and
remain standing for the singing of our
national anthem by Staff Sergeant , Ian
Kelly . And the invocation delivered by
chaplain William Green .
Oh , say , can you see
by the dawn's early light ?
What so proudly we
and at the twilight last
gleaming whose broad stripes and
bright stars through the pear
roll us fight all
the parts we want
arched were so lightly
streaming and the rocks
around the bombs
bursting in air can
prove through the knot ,
right ? That a flag was still ,
oh , say , does that s
bang good but not yet .
And of the
and no
and
Dave ,
good morning , please bow with me for
the invocation . Almighty
God , the author of liberty and our
sustainer protector and guide . Hear
our prayers and bless the ceremony with
your presence as we honor Captain Larry
Taylor , a courageous warrior and
selfless leader . His valiant actions
in Vietnam on June 18th , 1968 have
rightly earned him the medal of honor .
Our nation's highest medal for valor in
combat and his heroism continues to
inspire us today . Lord , we thank
you for empowering him beyond measure
in the crucible of combat where he
selflessly put his comrades lives
before his very own . He is a servant
leader whose actions cause us all to
sacrificial service to one another . As
Captain Taylor is inducted into the
Hall of Heroes and his name is unveiled
and permanently etched into granite .
We pray that the name Captain Larry L
Taylor will forever be an enduring
reminder of his sacrifice and a
perpetual inspiration to all who see it
bless him an new this morning along
with his family members , leaders ,
fellow soldiers and friends who are
present here with him in body and in
spirit and heavenly father . We humbly
ask that you sustain and empower all
those serving to preserve and defend
our nation . Today as Captain Taylor
did throughout his distinguished career ,
we pray all these blessings in your
majestic and mighty name . Amen .
Please be seated .
Ladies and gentlemen , the vice chief
of staff of the army .
Good morning , everyone . Captain
Taylor , as well as your friends ,
family and teammates . Thank you for
being here . I imagine you've had a
hectic past few weeks and we appreciate
that you are here with the army team on
Fort Myer . And sir , I noticed that
you got a fresh haircut for today's
occasion . I did too . I
think we might have the same barber . I
keep telling her not to take so much
off the top . She definitely pull it
off better than I do . Uh Secretary
Austin Secretary War . It's my pleasure
to be up here with you today for this
event , General Millie , rather
distinguished guest . Thank you all for
joining us . We are here today to
recognize an incredible American for
acts of heroism . Yeah ,
I want to set the scene for everyone in
the audience . On the night of June
18th , 1968 4
American soldiers were out on a long
range reconnaissance patrol near the
village of Ap Go Kong in Vietnam .
They came across the North Vietnamese
element that was much larger than they
expected a company plus of enemy
fighters and they soon found themselves
surrounded and under heavy fire . It
was the start of the rainy season and
the men were soaking wet standing and
fighting from the slippery banks of a
horse cart trail . The radio was on the
ground so that the antenna wouldn't get
blown off by an enemy bullet . The
night was utterly dark , just a sliver
of moon overhead and absolutely no
light coming from the nearby village .
But even if they couldn't see the
enemy's faces , they could see the
green flashes of enemy trace around
zooming past and hear the crack of near
misses . The recon team leader raided
up to his higher headquarters for
support were surrounded . He said their
supply of ammunition was dwindling
quickly and the enemy was overwhelming .
Death seemed close . And certain .
Finally , Captain Taylor's voice came
over the radio . This is dark horse 32 .
He was flying at just the right angle
to ensure that he could be heard over
the throb of his rotor blades .
Sergeant David Hill , one of the
soldiers on the ground heard Taylor's
voice come over the net . Sergeant Hill
thought he sounded as cool and as
casual as a bus tour guide in a big
city . The mini guns on Captain
Taylor's Cobra helicopter provided the
recon team some reprieve but they were
all just biting time until the men
could be extract , extracted by Huey .
But the Hueys didn't come now low on
fuel . Captain Taylor radioed back to
the headquarters and asked for
permission to extract the soldiers
himself negative he was told come back
to refuel and rearm but they are
surrounded Captain Taylor reiterated
negative again was the response . But
Larry Taylor knew that the men on the
ground had no hope of survival . So he
defied the order and came in for a
landing . The trapped soldiers raced
for the bird jumping on the rocket pods
in the skids . And then Captain Taylor
pulled pitch with bullets still
whizzing towards them . By the time
Captain Taylor got back to base , he
was out of ammunition , had just
minutes of fuel left and his helicopter
was badly damaged from enemy fire .
What's more he found out that he was
already being considered for punitive
action for defying orders . But he had
saved the lives of four men men that he
didn't personally know and wouldn't
know for more than two decades .
It is difficult for many to understand
what would drive a person to take such
risk for a stranger to boldly act even
when told to stand down and to
fearlessly face death so that someone
else might live . But in Captain
Taylor's words , in the army , he knew
a bond of brotherhood . He'd never seen
anywhere else . He served others over
himself , an idea personified in the
army's motto . This , we'll defend
Captain Taylor exemplifies what is
great about our army . He recognized
that there was something that only he
could do and he boldly did it . He
brought calm and clarity to men who
were enduring chaos and he stayed by
their side at great risk to his own
life . He demonstrated unbelievable
courage , strength of will and
selflessness . Ultimately , our army
recognized that Captain Taylor's
actions were the right ones . His cobra
extraction became a teaching tool at
Ranger School to show how leaders could
continue to find solutions in complex
situations . And though it's long
overdue yesterday , the president
honored his actions with the highest
award a soldier can receive .
Captain Taylor . Sir . Your story is
now part of our nation's lore by taking
your place among other venerated heroes .
You will continue to inspire
generations of soldiers as they face
their own challenges and you will
forever represent to our country and to
the world , the strength ingenuity
and personal courage of American
soldiers . Thank you and your family
for your sacrifice for your service and
for your example ,
ladies and gentlemen , the Secretary of
the Army ,
thank you so much General George for
that vivid account of Captain Taylor's
heroism . And thank you Secretary
Austin for being with us here today .
It has been such a privilege for all of
us in the Army and the Department of
Defense to help share this remarkable
story with the American people over the
past few days , Captain Taylor . It is
an honor to be here with you and so
many of your friends and family members .
I'm also really happy to see your wife
Tony in the audience today to celebrate
this occasion . It's been wonderful for
all of us to see you supporting Captain
Taylor . Cheering him on just as you've
done . I'm told so enthusiastically for
the last 52 years . And that's a heck
of an accomplishment .
Some of Captain Taylor's fellow
veterans are here too , including
Sergeant David Hill , whose life he
saved and staff Sergeant Mike Holden ,
who has remained one of Captain
Taylor's closest friends since a chance
encounter at a Vietnam vets reunion .
The army prides itself on bringing out
the best in its people every day . Our
soldiers have the chance to demonstrate
their commitment to a higher cause and
help keep the army rolling along in
defense of our nation . But not all of
those soldiers will find themselves in
combat . And among those even fewer
will ever face a decision to risk their
own life to save the lives of their
fellow soldiers . The names of those
soldiers who stared down death in the
service of something larger than
themselves are inscribed on the wall of
the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes . And now
at the Memorial Garden of the New
National Museum of the United States
Army . This morning , we are honored to
add another name to both of those walls
of honor and remembrance . The name of
a person whose actions as General
George described them bring to life .
One of our army's most critical values ,
selfless service , medals of honor are
rare . The acts they memorialize are
uncommon , but those who have known
Captain Larry Taylor throughout his
life know that for him , selflessness
is a part of who he is . So today ,
while we honor a single courageous act ,
I wanna speak about Captain Taylor's
lifetime of commitment to this army
value . The idea of service was
instilled in Larry Taylor from his
earliest days his great uncle fought in
World War One . His dad was in the navy
and fought in World war 21 of his
uncles stormed Omaha Beach setting the
stage for America's liberation of
Europe . And another uncle and airmen
flew B 20 fours in Germany . As Larry
Taylor came of age in eastern Tennessee .
He knew that the military offered him a
path to serve something larger than
himself . As soon as he graduated from
college , he rushed to an army
recruiter . The Vietnam War was
escalating and the draft was in full
effect . But as Captain Taylor later
put it , I didn't need to be drafted in
Vietnam . It was the honor of my life
to serve there . Captain Taylor signed
his commission as an armor officer ,
but quickly realized that helicopters
were rare . He needed to be . So after
qualifying as an army aviator , he
headed to Vietnam flying the army's
brand new Cobra helicopter . So new as
I heard back in the green room that we
didn't actually even have manuals and
Captain Taylor was flying them based on
worksheets . So that's a heck of a
thing as a helicopter pilot , he flew
well , over 2000 combat missions came
under enemy fire . 340 times and was
forced down on five occasions . And not
once did he falter when a call for help
came sputtering over his radio , time
and time again during his army service ,
Captain Taylor put himself before
others and got the job done as we honor
his actions . On June 18th , 1968 I ask
all of you to consider the remarkable
self , selflessness that Captain Taylor
demonstrated on that fateful night . In
his own words , quote , I had seen
people captured and tortured and there
was no doubt in my mind , I just had to
create a diversion and go and get the
men on the ground . He didn't miss a
beat even in the face of his most
extreme test . And we know that this
was not the only day in Vietnam when
his dogged determination to leave , no
man behind , saved lives . Captain
Taylor served in the army for three
more years after his deployment to
Vietnam was over . And even after he
left the service , he would continue to
put others before himself . So you
might not be surprised to learn that
after returning to Tennessee , he
taught at the Tennessee's school for
the deaf . He was also active in
supporting his local Vietnam veterans
of America chapter . And many years
later after taking over his father's
sheet metal company , Larry chose to
give parts of it away when the time
came for him to retire , shop , space ,
building materials , machinery . All of
it went to the Boy Scouts of America
Habitat for Humanity and the town's
railroad museum in the years after
Vietnam , Captain Taylor and Tony were
putting down deeper roots in the
Chattanooga area . And as they did , a
movement was gaining momentum to
upgrade his silver star to a higher and
more rarely awarded honor at the center
of this effort were David Hill , one of
the four soldiers he saved and others
like Mike Holden and General BB Bell
who were not present on that faithful
night . They worked tirelessly to share
the story of Captain Taylor's heroism
and their own selfless efforts drew
more to their cause . Members of card
members of congress artists and
musicians , Captain Taylor inspired
them and he inspires us , reminding us
that we are all bound together by our
common humanity and often we depend on
others in tough situations . People can
be quick these days , it seems to put
their own needs and interests ahead of
others . But Larry Taylor reminds us
what genuine service looks like .
Captain Taylor to this day , your
legacy continues to reverberate within
the United States Army and motivating
Americans from all walks of life . Your
dedication to service shown in this
single act that we honor today has
inspired many . You didn't dedicate
your life to these values because you
wanted or expected praise from
Chattanooga to Vietnam and back again
and during each of your individual
battles , including the one you are
fighting Now , you have kept a smile on
your face and your composure . You have
reminded us that when facing any
problem , there is always a solution
and you should never give up . You have
even said that if transported back in
time and given the chance , you would
go back to Vietnam tomorrow and save
those men all over again through it all ,
Captain Taylor , you have put others
first today . We are happy to put you
first . We recognize and honor your
selfless act and we applaud the
countless selfless choices you have
made . Thank you again , Captain Taylor
for your truly selfless service .
Ladies and gentlemen , the secretary of
Defense .
Well , good morning , everyone .
Secretary Warmus General George , thank
you for your moving words and thank you
for what you do each and every day to
take care of our soldiers and their
families . Let me add my thanks
to our distinguished guests , including
family and friends and battle buddies
of Captain Larry Taylor .
Yesterday , President Biden presented
Captain Taylor with our nation's
highest award for valor , the medal of
honor . And today I am
deeply honored to be here with all of
you as we add his name to our
Hall of Heroes . As
you heard earlier on the night of June
18th , 1968 .
Then Lieutenant Taylor was at Foy base
camp when he heard the horn go off
and he knew what that sound meant .
Admit that somewhere American soldiers
were in trouble and he had two minutes
to get to his , to get his cobra attack
helicopter in the air and fly towards
him . So he got moving
along with his copilot and another
helicopter team . Now , Lieutenant
Taylor had a radio frequency and he
knew the general direction of where he
was headed , but that was it .
He didn't know the exact coordinates of
the soldiers who were in danger or what
he would encounter once he got there or
later that night , that he would pull
off her feet that had never been done
before . You just heard the horn
and he took off flying .
Now , as you heard General George say
earlier that evening , a long range
patrol team of four soldiers had been
on a reconnaissance mission and they
walked into a rice paddy about the size
of a football field and soon realized
that they were in the middle of a
staging ground for opposing forces
and suddenly they were surrounded by at
least 80 enemy troops . Now , these
soldiers , these four American soldiers
were trained in escape and evasion .
But in this case , they had nowhere to
escape to what they did have
was a radio and that was their lifeline
because on the other end of that radio
was Lieutenant Larry Taylor .
Lieutenant Taylor flew over the rice
paddy , but he couldn't see his
comrades on the ground from his
helicopter . He later recalled that it
was so dark . It was like looking down
into an Inkwell ,
but four soldiers lives were in grave
danger . So he daringly dipped to low
altitudes to find them . And once he
spotted their position , he directed
his firepower to , uh , to attack the
encroaching enemy . And over the next
45 minutes , the American pilots
in the air and the soldiers on the
ground fought with everything that they
had in return , the
enemy was firing rpgs and bullets at
them from every point on the compass .
Now , even with the blast and the
tremors of rockets and rifles ,
Lieutenant Taylor and his wingman
warrant officer James Ratliffe
fearlessly made treetop attacks on the
opposing force . And when they ran low
on firepower , Larry Taylor
made fake runs to draw enemy fire
toward his helicopter to spare the men
on the ground . And soon
Lieutenant Taylor had fired every
single rocket in nearly every round
that he had and he was running low on
gas . Now , usually that meant he would
fly back to base and refuel and rearm
but the four men on the ground were
down to their last magazine of
ammunition . Lieutenant Taylor
estimated that they were still
outnumbered by at least 15 to 1
and no evacuation . Huey helicopter was
on the way and so leaving them behind
would mean certain death it was
now or never .
So Lieutenant Taylor quickly came up
with a plan in a clear and calm voice .
He directed the soldiers where to point
their last Claymore mines . And when
Larry Taylor gave the signal . They
detonated the mice . Now that cleared a
path and the men ran as fast as they
could through the clearing . And a few
moments later , the four men could feel
the downward blast coming from the
Colbert's blades . In Lieutenant
Taylor's words , they all arrived at
the same hole in the mud .
Now , as many of , you know , the Cobra
was only designed to carry a pilot , a
copilot and ammunition and the
cockpit was just 36 inches wide . And
Larry , I still don't know how you fit
in that cockpit , but , uh , you did it
somehow , but Lieutenant Taylor
remembers that it was so small that you
couldn't even open a paper map and , uh ,
have the map be useful to you . So
there's no use in even opening the map .
So evacuating soldiers with this kind
of helicopter was absolutely unheard of
and most would never think to even try
it . But after making it through an
intense firefight and miraculously
meeting up with the patrol team on the
ground , Lieutenant Taylor was
willing to improvise . So over the
radio , he told the men to hang on to
the outside of his helicopter wherever
they could . Sergeant David Hill
and specialist Bill Con climbed onto
the rocket pods and specialist Gerald
Patty and Private Bob Elsner held on
tight to the skids and within 10
seconds they were off . Lieutenant
Taylor climbed to 1500 ft in the air
before turning on his navigation lights .
Moments before the patrol
had feared for their lives in the next
10 minute flight was the ride of their
lives . Lieutenant
Taylor touched down at a secure
location and the four soldiers ran out
in front of the helicopter ducking
under the blades and they turned back
to look , to catch a glimpse of the
pilot who had just risked everything to
rescue them . They could hardly see
Lieutenant Taylor's helmet through the
haze , but they gave him a salute
and a grateful thumbs up
the valor that Lieutenant Taylor
displayed that night was extraordinary .
But to Larry Taylor , it was simple .
He would never leave a man behind now
or ever
since leaving military service ,
Captain Taylor has gotten Christmas
cards from the families of those he
protected in Vietnam and at reunions ,
he's met many of their descendants
because when Captain Taylor saved four
lives that night , he secured
the future of new generations of
Americans . And I'm happy to
say that there's a new addition to that
legacy David Hill . One of the men who
rode on the Cobra's rocket pod is here
with us today along with his four month
old grandson . So let's give them a
round of applause .
Yeah , Captain Taylor on that
battlefield some 55 years ago , it was
now or never . And our
hall of Heroes will honor you now
and forever . May
we all draw inspiration from the
resolve and the courage of this
American hero . May God
bless Captain Larry Taylor and his
family and all those who stepped up to
serve the country that we love .
And may God continue to bless the
United States of America . Thank you ,
Secretary War General Millie General
George , Sergeant Major Weimer ,
captain and Miss Taylor , Mr Mike
Holden and Mr David Hill will now join
Secretary Austin on the stage for the
induction ceremony . Ladies and
gentlemen , please remain seated during
the presentations .
The president of the United States of
America authorized by act of Congress
March 3rd , 18 63 has awarded in the
name of Congress . The medal of honor
to captain Larry L . Taylor . United
States Army for conspicuous gallantry
and intrepidity at the risk of his life
above and beyond the call of duty .
First Lieutenant Larry L Taylor
distinguished himself by acts of
Gallantry and intrepidity above and
beyond the call of duty while serving
with troop D air first squadron ,
fourth cavalry , first Infantry
Division on June 18th , 1968 near
the village of Ap Go Kong Republic of
Vietnam . On this date . First
Lieutenant Taylor commanded a light
fire team of two cobra helicopter
gunships scrambled on a nighttime
mission in response to an urgent call
for aerial fire support from a four man
long range patrol team upon arrival .
First Lieutenant Taylor found the
patrol team surrounded and heavily
engaged by a larger Viet Cong force .
He immediately requested illumination
rounds from supporting artillery to
assist with identifying the enemy
positions . Despite intense enemy
ground fire , he flew at a perilously
low altitude . Placing a devastating
volume of aerial rocket and machine gun
fire on the enemy forces encircling the
friendly patrol for approximately 45
minutes . First Lieutenant Taylor and
his wingman continued to make low level
danger , close attack runs on the
surrounding enemy positions . When
enemy fire increased from the village
of Ap Go Kong . He requested artillery
rounds with lower illumination
altitudes be fired on that portion of
the village so that the burning rounds
ignited the enemy positions with both
cobra gunships nearly out of ammunition
and the enemy still closing in on the
patrol team . First Lieutenant Taylor
flew the patrol team's potential ground
evacuation route , finding it unviable
based on the heavy enemy fire
encountered returning to the patrol
team's location . He continued to
circle it at a low level under intense
enemy fire , employing his searchlight
to make fake gun runs on the enemy
positions to distract them from the
patrol team running low on fuel and
with the patrol team nearly out of
ammunition . First Lieutenant Taylor
decided to extract the team with his
two man cobra helicopter gunship a feat .
Never before accomplished . He directed
his wingman to fire their remaining
mini gun rounds on the patrol team's
east flank . First Lieutenant Taylor
then fired his own last mini gun rounds
on the enemy positions opening an
avenue of movement to the east for the
patrol team He directed the patrol team
to move 100 yards towards the
extraction point where First Lieutenant
Taylor still under enemy fire landed
his helicopter and instructed the
patrol team to climb aboard anywhere
they could . With the four man long
range patrol teams seated on rocket
pods and skids , he evacuated them to
the nearest friendly location ,
undoubtedly saving their lives . First
Lieutenant Taylor's conspicuous
gallantry , his profound concern for
his fellow soldiers and his intrepidity
at the risk of his life above and
beyond the call of duty are in keeping
with the highest traditions of military
service and reflect great credit upon
himself . His unit and the United
States Army .
At this time , the medal of honor flag
will be presented on the 23rd of
October 2002 Public Law 1072
48 section 81 43 established the Medal
of Honor flag to recognize service
members who have distinguished
themselves by Gallantry in action above
and beyond the Call of Duty . The Medal
of Honor flag commemorates the
sacrifice and bloodshed for our
freedoms and gives emphasis to the
medal of honor being the highest award
for valor by an individual serving in
the armed forces of the United States .
The light blue color with gold fringe
bearing 13 white stars are adapted from
the medal of honor ribbon .
The medal of honor plaque will now be
unveiled inducting Captain Taylor into
the Hall of Heroes
at this time , please direct your
attention to the screens as a soldier
unveils Captain Taylor's name on the
medal of honor Garden Wall at the
National Museum of the United States
Army .
Thank you , Secretary Austin ,
Secretary Warmuth General Millie
General George and Sergeant Major
Weimer .
Yes ,
ladies and gentlemen . Captain Larry L
Taylor .
Good morning . Or
almost . Good afternoon . Oh ,
yeah .
Yeah .
Like ever since I was a , a
little boy . Uh ,
well , I just dreamed
one day the , the ,
um ,
that's true .
Oh , good .
Mm .
Uh , I've thought long and hard
about that night over and over
and , mm ,
I don't know what we could have done to
make it any better . We didn't lose a
man and , uh ,
everybody we came with , went home with
us . Uh ,
few of you had gone . Yeah .
No , but
I appreciate it . I do . This is a
great honor . Me and my
family . Ok .
And , uh ,
I can't read that anyway . Oh .
Um ,
but , uh ,
I'd ask if there are any questions but
I'm afraid I couldn't answer them and I
just looked more stupid ,
but thank you all for coming . I
appreciate that . This is the greatest
day ever ,
the best ever .
So I thank you and I
just want to salute you for coming .
No , please , please , please , please
sit down . Um ,
I really hadn't prepared anything to
say because I thought I , I thought for
sure I'd faint before before I could
say anything . But yeah ,
you just don't know how much this means
to me . Oh ,
people asked me about that night .
You know , what , what possessed you to
do that ? Well , hell , it needed doing .
And , uh , I said , you're insane ,
aren't you ? And I said , well , Cobra
pilots were a little weird anyway . But ,
uh , we all pulled together and the
four guys on the ground , they're part
of the team too . Um ,
they've become lifelong friends
and , uh , I , uh , hell , I don't know
what else to say . I'd , I'd entertain
questions from audience , but I , I
don't know . Um , um ,
I appreciate you coming and thank you
so very much . You ready ?
I wanted to fly because I had been
on the ground in Vietnam . That sucked .
So I wanted to avoid all of that and I
did , except for the few times I got
shot down . I was on the ground for a
while .
This was the cockpit of an old B model
new egg , which had a crew of four and
all kinds of doors that opened . That's
what we flew until we got the cobras .
The cobra was 36 inches wide and
that was the , in the , yeah , that's
the rear seat of the cobra and that
would cruise at 240 miles an hour . The
Vietnamese had a saying and it says ,
don't shoot , the skinny ones , don't
shoot at the skinny ones and then you
do I too much . Uh , with the
cobra , you could set your controls
over cell room , you could put 76 watts
on the ground in about 80 seconds to
society . We operated as
far south as Vung Tao and as far north
as Bag , which was about 100 miles
north and south over to
Tainan , which was about 75 miles or
maybe 80 miles east and
west . We were responsible for
everything in that area of operation .
Typical mission was either
reconnaissance where you would go out
with another Cobra and two scout
helicopters and they would fly around
and beat the grass and try to find the
enemy . And the other missions
were scrambles when the horn
goes off , you've got two minutes to
get that helicopter in the air and en
route to the target of the 1200
combat missions . I flew more than 1000
involved , a long range reconnaissance
patrols that the rangers ran and
these poor just go out in the jungle
for , for a while by
themselves . And uh they would smack
Charlie in her nose and then they would
call us and say , ok , come get us .
No , we were sitting there minding our
own business thinking I was hoping that
we don't kick call tonight and bam the
horn went off a new a
frequency and a new direction
and it was wildcat too . Well , this ,
it was a team of lurks that were
controlled by Bob Elsner .
Bob was either a sergeant E seven or a
private , depending on who he had
smarted off to , uh , that , that night
he was a private and he said , well ,
we're in a rice paddy in a village
south of Ap goon .
And there's probably 100 people in here
with us . I said , ok . Ok .
Uh let's go down and see what we can
find . So I , I located him with my
radio beacon and uh , flew over him
and he said , ok , you're right
directly overhead . He said , can you
provide some artillery ? And I said ,
no , not really Bob because I don't
know where I am and I don't know what
the coordinates are , but I know what
the coordinates of that village are .
I'll call and get some magnesium
parachute flares over that village and
it'll light up and I'll come down low
level and screwed across the ground and
everything will be backlit . So that's
what we did . And uh we turn loose 100
and 52 rockets and 16,000 rounds of mit
gun . Uh They were still outnumbered 15
to 1 , maybe 16 to 1 . And
I said , uh uh Bob , uh do you have any
Claymore minds ? And he said , yes ,
got bored . And I said , well , you're
completely surrounded and I want you to
0.2 of your play more mines to the
north two on 100 and 35 degree asthma .
And when I say , blow them , you blow
them and run like we're going to blow a
hole in that rain . And then the
Tactical Operations Center said , no ,
you don't pick them up . They're
trained to escape and evade . And I
said , there's no place for them to
escape and evade too . Please stay off
my radio . And , um ,
so I said , are you ready , Bob ? He
said , ready . So we went down , uh , I
shut out all the lights and landed in
the dark . They were running in the
direction they were supposed to run . I
noticed that only three of them were
running . One of them kept lagging .
They were out of ammunition . So
he had a bag of grenades and , um ,
he would drop back about every 50 ft
and throw grenades at the North
Vietnamese regulars . And then he would
run another 50 or 60 ft and throw more
grenades . And finally , we all arrived
at the same hole in the mud and , uh ,
they jumped on and
they patrol leader Bob and , and the ,
the man in front was Gerald Patty from
Merrillville , Tennessee . They jumped
on and smacked the side of the ship .
And then Billy Con and Dave
Hill jumped on the rocket pod and
slapped the canopy . So I had the
lights out and I just pulled the pitch
and went up to a 1500 ft hover .
I call my , uh , uh ,
Copilot who sits right in front of you
and he said , we've got them . He said ,
what are you gonna do with them , sir ?
I said , what do you want to do , we
can't take them home . They'll freeze
to death before we get them there
because they're sopping wet and you're
flying at 100 and 50 miles an hour that
they , they , they lose grip and fall
off . He says , let's take them down to
the water treatment plants . It's about
three minutes down the river . We'll
drop them off inside the fence and then
we'll go home . He said , but be
advised where you got a 20 minute fuel
light that's on . I
spoke to , I said , how long has it
gone ? He said about five minutes and I
said , all right . So we're gonna make
a , a 25 minute flight on 20 minutes
worth of fuel . He said , in essence ,
I said , ok , so I landed , I used a
light because I've never been in there
before and
they all rolled off and ran to the
front of the ship and got out from
under the rotor blade and they went to
the fence and I all
turned around ,
which means we're ok . Thank you .
But that's , that's what we did . We ,
uh we , we took care of the Lurks and
uh and the rangers ,
ladies and gentlemen , Mr David Hill .
It's been a pleasure . Uh Larry asked
me to do this to address you . Tell a
little story of Larry Taylor , but also
the excellent division , the first
division that we served in both of us .
Uh All the gentlemen here on parades on
the right side , all the aviators and
fellows with the cavalry hats . We were
the big red one . Uh when you're a
commander like Larry , that's in a
battle long for many uh uh hire
headquarters or from any superior
officers . Uh You're in the arena . Uh
decisions are yours . You got to live
with them right or wrong .
We all received that mission when we
first got to the big red one . Um and
it had been the mission , it had been
the mission statement if you will of
the big red one for many decades , we
got to Vietnam . You walked under a
portal , an archway at Zion division
headquarters at that time . And then
across the top of it is the big run
one's motto , mantra . However , I
think to me it represents more what the
military calls , uh the sense of the
commander . If you're cut off from
communications , if your battle plan
changes and you have to adapt because
the enemy also gets a vote , you know
what to fall back on . Since the
commanders , your commanding general is
telling his colonels , his majors , his
captains , lieutenants on down the line ,
uh what they're to do and ours is very
distinctive . No mission , too
difficult , no sacrifice , too
great duty . First
simple message , very straightforward ,
not something you're gonna forget from
the trenches of World War one and the
city of Contini France . Uh The first
assault on the German forces was by our
28th regiment , they became known as
the Black Lions of Cantini . Uh for
that , uh they next appeared in Europe
uh having come from South Africa and
Sicily to a place on the Normandy Coast ,
a bloody place . In fact , the name of
the beach was easy red on a beach
called Omaha lost many men .
They made it up through the causeway on
top and Contin continued in line uh in
excuse me with their uh to the mission
to their assignments . When Larry
Taylor and myself and my teammates
arrived in Vietnam , our terrain would
be rice patties and jungle , bamboo ,
elephant grass , which would , if you
didn't have your sleeves down , it
would cut you . Uh So it's a different
terrain but it was still the big red
one . No mission , too difficult ,
no sacrifice , too great duty .
First for Captain
Taylor , there was no confusion , no
lack of clarity as to what lay before
him and what he needed to do . He
came into that fight with two primary
tools uh to win it , to save our
team . He had a lot of rockets . He had
a lot of mini gun ammunition and he had
an incredibly swift , powerful ,
versatile and agile helicopter brand
new and the first division inventory ,
the A H one G Cobra
and he would use it to great effect .
So uh over the course of the fight
later in the fight , he started to run
out of ammunition . He started to run
out of fuel and he started thinking as
any good commander did . Well , I've
just lost two of my primary tools .
What do I have left ? I haven't run out
of options . They're just fewer . I
have a tremendous aircraft , taking
battle damage , but still flyable . I
can do something . We're not going to
win this fight . Obviously . Uh , we
don't and I can no longer help the ,
the team survive who also were out of
ammunition . Uh We were tapped out , we
had our K bar knives and that was it
and I happen to have a few grenades to
throw still . Um So Larry Taylor , uh
he did what I think a good commanders
do . Uh He said
when you're up against it and uh you
need to , you need to keep thinking uh
the , the solutions there . Um Go ahead ,
go ahead with that decision , commit
yourself . And if it doesn't work ,
there's always another idea . Uh Don't
you never give up ? The team's not
gonna give up and I'm not not gonna
give up on them . Larry's own
motto is leave , no man behind . Uh
leave in his case , leave , no man on
the ground . He knew if he left . Uh He
we wouldn't be there not alive .
So Captain Taylor was guided both by
the first divisions um message motto
mantra . However , you want to
characterize it as well as his own .
And he and he stayed faithful to both
of them simultaneously . So
I'm going in , uh he was told not to
and he said , sorry , he changed an
alternate channel , talked only to our
team leader , Paul Elsner . Uh He uh
then proceeded to do so . He figured if
he could land near us , we were
rangers , we were versatile , we could
figure it out . We were also pretty
desperate . So , and he was right , of
course , had no time to train us on the
jump seat . That's actually part of the
uh ammo bay door on a cobra and there
wouldn't be any , any time to find it .
And it was , as was said , it was
Inkwell Dark .
So he thought I gotta deliver those
guys from the battle since I can't win
it . And I'm not gonna lose and lose
them . And he did his actions that
night . Uh uh He had received our
nation's third highest medal , uh the
silver star medal .
We looked at that though and said there
are a number of silver stars uh awarded .
There's a distinction between what the
gentleman that one knows did not one
wrong term that received those . And
what he did is just a matter of
stacking and it was , it was beyond
with the next level which the
distinguished service cross . So we're
gonna go for the big one should have
happened 55 years ago , but it didn't .
But again , Captain Taylor never get ,
never gave out , uh uh gave up on us
and is incumbent on me to do something
about it . Uh By this time , I was the
only surviving member of the long range
patrol team . I'd been the rear
security assistant team leader . Um We
lost Paul , uh , excuse me , we lost
Billy Conn and his entire team on
October 21st , 1968 . Uh The other two
gentlemen , uh Elsner and Patty died of
cancer uh back in 2010 , 2015 .
So , what I had to do basically is fall
back on on a , a very key part of
what's known as a ranger code . Excuse
me ? Ranger creed . And it reads
readily . Will I display the intestinal
fortitude required to fight on to the
ranger objective and complete the
mission though ? I be the lone survivor .
It means a lot to me . Uh , just as
Larry Taylor's actions , do we formed a
team ? Can we call it a cross country
team myself in Nevada and all the other
folks in Chattanooga , Tennessee
at first under , uh , retired general
Major General , Bill Raines gave us an
office , gave us a staff , gave us
telephones , uh , and a place to meet
whenever I was in town . But the
message is clear also . He says this is
your mission . I'll support you , I'll
help you , I'll help . I'll bring some
other people in to be part of the team ,
but it's your job and you can't
delegate that away . I had no intention
to . But the message was clear . And
that's just what he did . He supported
us . Uh We were rebuffed a number of
times . The army is very exacting med
of honor is such a high level thing
that things have to be perfect and it's
well covered by regulations . At first ,
we had difficult and find uh being able
to comply with some of the requirements .
Uh But finally , uh General BB Bell
joined the team , uh brought with his
inspiration and , and uh getting us
moving forward again , we felt like we
were in the red zone , but we weren't
going over the goal line . General be
pushed us over the goal line . We'd
looked at language that the army
required . We finally found the answer
they were seeking once we did it after
all those years in two weeks , it was
completed . Uh they had done their job
all along in rebuffing the earlier ones
because we didn't fulfill the
requirements . So anyways , it finally
got done . So
our mission is with regard to getting
Larry Taylor , the medal of honor is
now completed . And uh I thank all
of you for sharing uh that this event
with us on this . Uh ask only that you
as an American , particularly you as a
troop commander or as a business
leader to tell Captain Taylor's story
in order to inspire your men , your
employees , your subordinates , the men
you lead . Look to Larry Taylor's style
of leadership . You got good people .
Keep them because you paid a lot to get
them in the company . You , you paid a
lot to get them in the United States
military . You inspire them forward and
they know if they do the job , uh they
will be going up the line . Yeah ,
this ends this part of the ceremony
today . But Captain Larry L
Taylor's story will never end so long
as we repeat it . Thank you .
Ladies and gentlemen , please remain
standing and join in the singing of the
army song . The words to the army song
can be found in your program .
Martial law , sing a
song with the army of
the free . Count the bridge .
They count the truth who have fought
to victory with the
army and proud of our name a
with the army and proudly proclaim
a first . You fight for the right and
you be the nation's might and the army
goes rolling along . Proud of
all we have done fighting till the
battles won and the army goes rolling
along and then it's high high .
Hey , the army is on its way . Count
off the cae it's hard and strong for
where we go . You will always know
that the army goes rolling
long .
This concludes the medal of honor
induction ceremony . Please remain
standing for the departure of the
official party .
Ladies and gentlemen , thank you for
joining us for today's ceremony ,
honoring Captain Taylor . Thank you for
attending and enjoy the rest of your
day .