May 2022 Veteran of the Month – Art Taylor
Arthur “Art” Robert Taylor was born in Evanston, Illinois in April 1946. He was born to his father Robert E. Taylor and Joyce Taylor. His father served in the Army Air Corps as a Captain who flew B17 bombers, to include during the D-Day invasion, in World War II. Art graduated from Barrington High School in 1965 and then enrolled in a local junior college. After a few months in college, he decided to quit and join the service.
In August 1965, Art visited the local recruiters. He knew the draft was coming, he didn’t enjoy school, and he had a love for the water and fishing. Even though he has never seen the ocean, he chose the Navy and committed to a three-year enlistment. He attended boot camp in San Diego, CA. After completing his training, he received orders to support the war effort in Vietnam. During his movement from San Francisco, CA to Manilla in the Philippines, he participated in several “Hi-Line” transfers between different ships until he finally ended up on a “blue water ship,” the USS Valley Forge. The deep offshore waters are often referred to as “blue waters” and naval vessels operating on them are referred to as the Blue Water Navy. Ships in this category entered Vietnam’s inland waterways temporarily as part of their gunfire, interdiction, or support missions. He served in the S2 Supply Division in charge of the storerooms in supply on the USS Valley Forge. Their mission had two main roles. One role of the USS Valley Forge was to serve as an Aircraft Carrier for Helicopters moving Marines and supplies in and out of Vietnam. The second role was to assist as a Hospital Ship. Art served a total of two years and eight months, with a total of two in-a-half combat tours. After three years of service, Art was discharged from active duty and transferred to the Naval Reserve. His decorations include National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal (4 bronze stars), Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device, and Meritorious Unit Commendation.
After his discharge from the Navy in 1968, Art began work at Western Electric as a draftsman. After working for Western Electric for seven years, he then began working for the United States Postal Service (USPS) in Illinois. In 1976, he then decided to move to Clearwater, FL and continue working for the USPS until retirement. During this time, Art met his wife Carol, and between the both of them, they have four kids and seven grandchildren. They have two sons, Brian and Grant, and two daughters, Amy and Betsy. Art and Carrol decided 12 years ago to move to Tellico Village, TN. They have been married for 26 years and are actively involved in their local community. Art has served with the Tellico Village VFW Post #12135 since its inception. Art also worked at Toqua for 10 years. He has led many community VFW events such as: Raffles, VFW Poppy fundraiser, and Chick-Fil-A fundraisers. He also supports his wife, Carol, in their local community church. They love their lifestyle and supporting their local community, along with the occasional boating and fishing. Art also enjoys playing golf.
The Tellico Village VFW Post #12135 General meeting is held at 7:00 p.m. in the Tellico Village Yacht Club every third Wednesday of the month. Further information can be found on the Post website at https://www.tellicovillagevfwpost.org/
Comments
May 2022 Veteran of the Month – Art Taylor — No Comments
HTML tags allowed in your comment: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>