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Specialty:
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Navy SEAL
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BUD/S Class:
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229
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SEAL Service:
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(TBD) years
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Rank:
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Petty Officer First Class
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Age:
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30
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Home:
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Midway, West Virginia
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Assigned:
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SEAL Team TEN, Virginia Beach, VA
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Died:
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June 28, 2005
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Operation:
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Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan)
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Details:
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Died while conducting combat operations, when the MH-47 helicopter he was aboard on a rescue mission crashed in the Kunar Province, Afghanistan.
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Awards:
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Bronze Start with Combat “V” for Valor
Purple Heart Combat Action Ribbon, and Afghanistan Campaign Medal, posthumously. |
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Other Awards:
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Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (w/ Combat “V” for Valor) (2) Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal Presidential Unit Citation Navy Unit Commendation (2) Meritorious Unit Commendation Navy “E” Ribbon Good Conduct Ribbon (4) Navy Fleet Marine Force Medal Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal National Defense Service Medal (2) Global War on Terrorism Service Medal Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (3) |
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Contributions:
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Taylor was part of a dedicated Naval Special Warfare team fighting the Taliban, a fundamentalist regime that a U.S.-led coalition knocked from power in Afghanistan in 2001, but has continued to conduct guerilla operations, particularly along the Pakistan border. Taylor worked to help ensure al Qaeda terrorists could not train in, nor launch strikes from Afghanistan since their lethal attack on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001.Jeffrey Taylor enlisted in the Navy in 1994 and became a Hospital Corpsman. After graduating from BUD/S, Taylor was assigned to SEAL Team EIGHT, the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center, and SEAL Team TEN. He deployed to Afghanistan in April 2005.
Jeffrey Taylor was one of 16 troops killed when a MH- 47 Chinook helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan on June 28, on a daring daylight mission to reinforce a four-man SEAL reconnaissance squad that had been ambushed in 8,000- foot mountainous terrain. Taylor, seven other SEALs, and eight Army “Nightstalker” Commandos died in their heroic attempt to rescue their fellow SEALs. LT Michael Murphy, Matthew Axelson, and Danny Dietz fought on courageously, providing protective fire for a fourth squad member to escape, before they were killed in the fierce firefight by overwhelming Taliban forces. A total of 11 SEALs died that day in the Global War against Terror. It was the biggest single loss of life for Naval Special Warfare forces since World War II. To a man, these SEALs embodied the Navy’s core values of Honor, Courage and Commitment, and took care of their teammates to the end. Jeffrey Taylor is remembered with the greatest respect and gratitude by his fellow SEALs, the Navy, and our nation. is remembered with the greatest respect and |
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| Memorials: | Taylor’s SEAL teammates remember him as “an extremely strong leader who knew how to get the job done. He was known as a serious, yet lighthearted person.”
Erin Taylor, Jeffrey’s wife, spoke of her husband as “honest, compassionate, and giving to a fault.” She said, “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.” |
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