Jeffrey Scott Taylor enlisted in the Navy in June 1994 and became a Hospital Corpsman.  After he completed SEAL training he was assigned to SEAL Team 8, the USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT, the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and SEAL Team 10.  During April 2005 he deployed to Afghanistan as a member of a dedicated team fighting the Taliban along the Pakistan border where he worked to help ensure al Qaeda terrorists could not train in nor launch strikes from Afghanistan.  On June 28, 2005, HM1 Taylor was one of 16 troops killed when their HM-47 Chinook helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan on a daring daylight mission to reinforce a four-man SEAL reconnaissance squad that had been ambushed in 8,000-foot mountainous terrain.  A total of 11 SEALs died that day in the Global War against Terror making it the biggest single loss of life for Naval Special Warfare forces since World War II.

HM1 Taylor’s teammates remember him as an extremely strong leader who knew how to get the job done.  He was known as a serious, yet light hearted person who earned the respect and gratitude of his fellow SEALs.  Taylor’s wife spoke of her husband as “honest, compassionate and giving to a fault.  He knew his place was fighting side by side with his best friends to bring peace and avoid future attacks on American soil.  Jeff knew his calling.”  He has been buried at Arlington National Cemetery where his headstone carries the inscription:  COURAGE  BEYOND  COMPARE.

Submitted by CDR Roy A. Mosteller, USNR (Ret)