Kenneth M. Taylor
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Marlar Taylor was a new United States Army Air Forces
Second Lieutenant pilot stationed at Pearl Harbor
during the Japanese attack
on December 7, 1941. Along with his fellow pilot and friend George Welch, they got airborne while under fire and Taylor shot down four Japanese dive bombers. Taylor was injured during the incident and received several awards for his efforts, including the Distinguished Service Cross
and the Purple Heart
.
Taylor later commanded several squadrons while stationed in the United States and elsewhere, and served for 27 years of active duty. He joined the Alaska Air National Guard
until 1971 and worked in the insurance industry before retiring in 1985. His Pearl Harbor experience was portrayed in the 1970 film Tora! Tora! Tora!
. Taylor died of hernia
complications in November 2006 and is buried at the Arlington National Cemetery
.
, Oklahoma
, Taylor's father Joe M. Taylor moved his family to Hominy, Oklahoma
, where Taylor graduated high school in 1938. He entered the University of Oklahoma
, Norman
, as a pre-law student in the same year and joined the Army Air Corps
two years later. He graduated from aviation training at Brooks Field
near San Antonio, Texas
on April 25, 1941, reaching the second lieutenant rank and was assigned to class 41C. In June 1941, he was assigned to the 47th Pursuit Squadron
at Wheeler Army Airfield
in Honolulu, Hawaii
, and began flying two weeks later. Although the 47th had several types of aircraft — some obsolete — he began his training in the advanced Curtiss P-40
B Warhawk fighter. Taylor accumulated more than 430 flight hours of training before the attack on Pearl Harbor.
on December 7, 1941, Taylor spent the night before playing poker and dancing at the officers' club at Wheeler with fellow pilot George Welch, and did not go to sleep until 6:30 a.m. local time on the day of the attack. Taylor and Welch awoke less than an hour and a half later at 7:55 a.m. to the sound of low-flying planes, machine-gun fire, and explosions. Lt. Taylor quickly put on his tuxedo pants from the night before and called Haleiwa
Auxiliary air field where eighteen P-40B fighters were located. Without orders, he told the ground crews to get two P-40 fighters armed and ready for takeoff. The new Buick was strafed by Japanese aircraft as the two pilots sped the 10 miles to Haleiwa; Taylor at times reached speeds of 100 mph (160.9 km/h). At the airstrip, they climbed into their Curtiss P-40B Warhawk fighters, which were fueled but armed with only .30 cal Browning
ammo.
After they took off, they headed towards Barber's Point
at the southwest tip of Oahu, and initially saw an unarmed group of American B-17 Flying Fortress bombers who were arriving from the mainland United States. They soon arrived at Ewa Mooring Mast Field which was being strafed by twelve Nakajima B5N
"Kate" torpedo dive bombers of the second Japanese attack wave. Although the two pilots were outnumbered six-to-one, they immediately began firing on the bombers. Taylor shot down two dive bombers and was able to damage another before running out of ammunition (the third damaged aircraft was considered Taylor's first probable kill). When both pilots had run out of ammo, they headed for Wheeler Field to get additional .50 cal ammo, since Haleiwa did not carry any. As he landed around 8:40 a.m., he had to avoid friendly anti-aircraft and ground fire. Once he was on the ground, several officers told Taylor and Welch to leave the planes and not return to attacking the Japanese aircraft, but the two pilots were able to convince the officers to allow them to keep fighting.
While his plane was being reloaded with the .50 cal, a flight of dive bombers began strafing Wheeler, and Welch took off again (since he had landed a few minutes before Taylor and was already reloaded). The men who were loading the ammunition on Taylor's plane left the ammo boxes on his wing as they scattered to get away from the bombers. Taylor quickly took off, jumping over an armament dolly and the ammo boxes fell off of his plane's wing. Both pilots realized that if they took off away from the incoming aircraft they would become targets once they were airborne, so both headed directly towards the bombers at take-off. Additionally, if the low-flying bombers attempted to fire at the grounded P-40s at their current elevation, they would risk crashing. Taylor used this hindrance to his advantage and began immediately firing on the enemy aircraft as he took off, and performed a chandelle
.
Taylor headed for a group of enemy aircraft, and due to a combination of clouds and smoke, he unintentionally entered the middle of the formation of seven or eight A6M Zeros. A Japanese rear-gunner fired at Taylor's aircraft and one of the bullets came within an inch of Taylor's head and exploded in the cockpit. One piece went through his left arm and shrapnel entered his leg. Taylor reflected on the injuries in a 2001 interview, saying "It was of no consequence; it just scared the hell out of me for a minute." A few years after the interview, Taylor received two other slugs from his crew chief that had been found behind his seat. Welch shot down the aircraft that had injured Taylor, and Taylor damaged another aircraft (his second probable kill) before pulling away to assist Welch with an attacking A6M Zero
. The attacking Zero and the rest of its formation left to return to their carriers as Taylor neared Welch. Taylor continued to fire on several enemy aircraft until he ran out of ammunition, and both pilots headed back to Haleiwa. After landing and driving back to Wheeler, Taylor and Welch passed by their squadron commander, Major Gordon H. Austin, who noticed that they were wearing their tuxedo attire. Unaware of their earlier dogfights, he shouted at the two men, saying "Get back to Haleiwa! You know there's a war on?" The two pilots explained what they had done, and the commander thanked them. In a 2003 interview, Taylor reflected on his actions: "I wasn't in the least bit terrified, and let me tell you why: I was too young and too stupid to realize that I was in a lot of danger."
According to the 25th Infantry Division's Tropic Lightning Museum, fourteen different American pilots were able to take off during the surprise attack and record ten Japanese aircraft kills. Air Corps records credit Welch with four kills and Taylor with two, yet new research of Japanese combat reports confirms Taylor got four kills (when the two probable kills are included). Taylor claimed in an interview: "I know for certain I shot down two planes or perhaps more; I don't know." On the thirteenth anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, the United States Air Force stated that they could not determine which of the two pilots shot down the first Japanese bomber: "Each of them in his first attack shot down an enemy bomber, so the difference in time would have been but a few seconds in any case." While in the air during the dogfight, the two pilots agreed that whoever survived the battle would claim credit to the title for the first kill. However, both pilots survived and because Welch outranked Taylor (he was a 41A, Taylor a 41C) and was the lead aircraft in the fight, he was credited with the first kill. The efforts of the two pilots’ dogfights were able to divert the Japanese from destroying the Haleiwa air field, which the Japanese intelligence did not know about prior to the attack. Taylor later reacted to the attack, saying "I believed I was a better-trained pilot than the enemy. I had good equipment, and I was proud of it."
For their heroic action on December 7, the U.S. War Department in Communiqué No. 19 on December 13, 1941, designated Taylor and Welch as the first two American heroes of World War II, and awarded both the Distinguished Service Cross
on January 8, 1942. Taylor learned that he was to receive the award in mid-December after reading several newspapers. The award is the United States' second highest honor for valor in action against an armed enemy. Additionally, he later received the Distinguished Service Medal
, the Legion of Merit
, the Air Medal
, and a Purple Heart
for injuries he sustained. Both men were recommended for the Medal of Honor
, but were turned down because they had taken off without orders.
_shooting_starcam.jpg)
After the Pearl Harbor attack Taylor was assigned to the 44th Fighter Squadron
, and went to the South Pacific at Henderson Field on Guadalcanal
. He was able to record two additional aerial kills: the first on January 27 and the other on December 7, 1943, two years after the Pearl Harbor attack. This brought his total number of career kills to six, designating him a flying ace
. In Guadalcanal he was injured during an air raid and was sent back to the United States in 1943. In the U.S. he trained pilots in preparation of combat in Europe and was then assigned to the 12th Pursuit Squadron
. At the end of World War II, Taylor had reached the rank of major
and went to the Philippines
to command a squadron that used the first United States Air Force combat jets, the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star. Afterwards, he commanded the 4961st Special Weapons Test Group, became a tactical evaluator at the USAF Inspector General's office, and worked in The Pentagon
. He was also the Deputy Chief of Staff and Plans for the Alaskan Air Command
and was a long range planner on the Joint Staff.
After serving 27 years of active duty, he retired as a colonel in 1967 and soon started as the Assistant Adjutant General for the Alaska Air National Guard
, retiring as a brigadier general in 1971. Following his retirement from the armed services, Taylor worked in the insurance industry in Alaska until 1985.
, whom he had met when she was visiting her father in Hawaii. Married for 64 years, the Taylors had two children: a daughter, Tina, son Ken II, three grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Taylor had homes in Anchorage, Alaska
and Green Valley, Arizona
after retiring from the Air Force. While he lived in Anchorage, Taylor would vacation in Hawaii each year. Taylor's son later retired as a brigadier general commanding the Alaska Air National Guard, the same position formerly held by his father.
At a 50th anniversary symposium of the Pearl Harbor attack, Taylor met with a Japanese pilot who was part of the first wave of bombers to attack Pearl Harbor. The pilot reflected on Taylor's efforts, "I was impressed by Mr. Taylor's grit to storm into the pack of Japanese fighters", and Taylor also told a reporter "I have no hatred against Japanese people, but I do against those who started the war."
Taylor was a technical adviser for and was depicted in the 1970 film Tora! Tora! Tora!
, where actor Carl Reindel
portrayed Taylor. The 2001 film Pearl Harbor
featured a sequence in which the characters portrayed by Ben Affleck
and Josh Hartnett
took to the skies to fight the Japanese. This sequence is understood to be a fill-in for Taylor's and Welch's roles in the actual Pearl Harbor attack, but the characters played by Affleck and Hartnett do not bear any other known similarities to Taylor and Welch. Unlike Tora! Tora! Tora!, Taylor was not consulted for the Pearl Harbor film, and later called the adaptation "... a piece of trash...over-sensationalized and distorted."
After contracting an illness from a hip surgery two years prior, Taylor died on November 25, 2006 of a strangulated hernia
at an assisted living residence in Tucson, Arizona
. His son stated that he wanted "to be remembered mostly as a good father, husband, grandfather and great-grandfather. He was very loyal and dutiful, and to him that was more important than what he did in the war." He was cremated and later buried at the Arlington National Cemetery
in June 2007 with full military honors. Alaska Senator Ted Stevens
gave a eulogy
at the United States Senate
prior to the service at Arlington.
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
Second Lieutenant pilot stationed at Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
during the Japanese attack
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
on December 7, 1941. Along with his fellow pilot and friend George Welch, they got airborne while under fire and Taylor shot down four Japanese dive bombers. Taylor was injured during the incident and received several awards for his efforts, including the Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...
and the Purple Heart
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
.
Taylor later commanded several squadrons while stationed in the United States and elsewhere, and served for 27 years of active duty. He joined the Alaska Air National Guard
Alaska Air National Guard
The Alaska Air National Guard is the component of the United States Air National Guard operating within the state of Alaska.-Overview:Alaska Air National Guard units are trained and equipped as part of the United States Air Force. The same ranks and insignia are used and National Guardsmen are...
until 1971 and worked in the insurance industry before retiring in 1985. His Pearl Harbor experience was portrayed in the 1970 film Tora! Tora! Tora!
Tora! Tora! Tora!
is a 1970 American-Japanese war film that dramatizes the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, to the extent these facts were known at the time of production. The film was directed by Richard Fleischer and stars an all-star cast, including So Yamamura, E.G...
. Taylor died of hernia
Hernia
A hernia is the protrusion of an organ or the fascia of an organ through the wall of the cavity that normally contains it. A hiatal hernia occurs when the stomach protrudes into the mediastinum through the esophageal opening in the diaphragm....
complications in November 2006 and is buried at the Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
.
Early years and beginning career
Shortly after his birth in EnidEnid, Oklahoma
Enid is a city in Garfield County, Oklahoma, United States. In 2010, the population was 49,379, making it the ninth largest city in Oklahoma. It is the county seat of Garfield County. Enid was founded during the opening of the Cherokee Outlet in the Land Run of 1893, and is named after Enid, a...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, Taylor's father Joe M. Taylor moved his family to Hominy, Oklahoma
Hominy, Oklahoma
Hominy is a city in Osage County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,565 at the 2010 census, a 38 percent increase from 2,584 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Hominy is located at ....
, where Taylor graduated high school in 1938. He entered the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
, Norman
Norman, Oklahoma
Norman is a city in Cleveland County, Oklahoma, United States, and is located south of downtown Oklahoma City. It is part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, Norman was to have 110,925 full-time residents, making it the third-largest city in Oklahoma and the...
, as a pre-law student in the same year and joined the Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
two years later. He graduated from aviation training at Brooks Field
Brooks City-Base
Brooks City-Base was a United States Air Force facility located in San Antonio, Texas, southeast of Downtown San Antonio.In 2002 Brooks Air Force Base was renamed Brooks City-Base when the property was conveyed to the Brooks Development Authority as part of a unique project between local, state,...
near San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
on April 25, 1941, reaching the second lieutenant rank and was assigned to class 41C. In June 1941, he was assigned to the 47th Pursuit Squadron
47th Fighter Squadron
The 47th Fighter Squadron is part of the 917th Fighter Group at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, and falls under the operational control of the 442nd Fighter Wing, Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri.-World War II:...
at Wheeler Army Airfield
Wheeler Army Airfield
Wheeler Army Airfield , also known as Wheeler Field and formerly as Wheeler Air Force Base, is a United States Army post located in the City & County of Honolulu and in the Wahiawa District of the Island of O'ahu, Hawaii...
in Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
, and began flying two weeks later. Although the 47th had several types of aircraft — some obsolete — he began his training in the advanced Curtiss P-40
Curtiss P-40
The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was an American single-engine, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational...
B Warhawk fighter. Taylor accumulated more than 430 flight hours of training before the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Pearl Harbor
Prior to the attack on Pearl HarborAttack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
on December 7, 1941, Taylor spent the night before playing poker and dancing at the officers' club at Wheeler with fellow pilot George Welch, and did not go to sleep until 6:30 a.m. local time on the day of the attack. Taylor and Welch awoke less than an hour and a half later at 7:55 a.m. to the sound of low-flying planes, machine-gun fire, and explosions. Lt. Taylor quickly put on his tuxedo pants from the night before and called Haleiwa
Hale'iwa, Hawai'i
Haleiwa is a North Shore community and census-designated place in the Waialua District of the island of Oahu, City and County of Honolulu.Haleiwa is located on Waialua Bay, the mouth of Anahulu Stream...
Auxiliary air field where eighteen P-40B fighters were located. Without orders, he told the ground crews to get two P-40 fighters armed and ready for takeoff. The new Buick was strafed by Japanese aircraft as the two pilots sped the 10 miles to Haleiwa; Taylor at times reached speeds of 100 mph (160.9 km/h). At the airstrip, they climbed into their Curtiss P-40B Warhawk fighters, which were fueled but armed with only .30 cal Browning
M1919 Browning machine gun
The M1919 Browning is a .30 caliber medium machine gun that was widely used during the 20th century. It was used as a light infantry, coaxial, mounted, aircraft, and anti-aircraft machine gun by the U.S. and many other countries, especially during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War...
ammo.
After they took off, they headed towards Barber's Point
Kalaeloa, Hawai'i
Kalaeloa is a census-designated place in Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 67 at the 2000 census. The community occupies the location of the former Naval Air Station Barbers Point, which was closed in 1999 and subsequently transferred to the State of Hawaii...
at the southwest tip of Oahu, and initially saw an unarmed group of American B-17 Flying Fortress bombers who were arriving from the mainland United States. They soon arrived at Ewa Mooring Mast Field which was being strafed by twelve Nakajima B5N
Nakajima B5N
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Bridgwater, H.C. and Peter Scott. Combat Colours Number 4: Pearl Harbor and Beyond, December 1941 to May 1942. Luton, Bedfordshire, UK: Guideline Publications, 2001. ISBN 0-9539040-6-7....
"Kate" torpedo dive bombers of the second Japanese attack wave. Although the two pilots were outnumbered six-to-one, they immediately began firing on the bombers. Taylor shot down two dive bombers and was able to damage another before running out of ammunition (the third damaged aircraft was considered Taylor's first probable kill). When both pilots had run out of ammo, they headed for Wheeler Field to get additional .50 cal ammo, since Haleiwa did not carry any. As he landed around 8:40 a.m., he had to avoid friendly anti-aircraft and ground fire. Once he was on the ground, several officers told Taylor and Welch to leave the planes and not return to attacking the Japanese aircraft, but the two pilots were able to convince the officers to allow them to keep fighting.
Chandelle
The chandelle is an aircraft control maneuver where the pilot combines a 180° turn with a climb.It is now required for attaining a commercial flight certificate in many countries...
.
Taylor headed for a group of enemy aircraft, and due to a combination of clouds and smoke, he unintentionally entered the middle of the formation of seven or eight A6M Zeros. A Japanese rear-gunner fired at Taylor's aircraft and one of the bullets came within an inch of Taylor's head and exploded in the cockpit. One piece went through his left arm and shrapnel entered his leg. Taylor reflected on the injuries in a 2001 interview, saying "It was of no consequence; it just scared the hell out of me for a minute." A few years after the interview, Taylor received two other slugs from his crew chief that had been found behind his seat. Welch shot down the aircraft that had injured Taylor, and Taylor damaged another aircraft (his second probable kill) before pulling away to assist Welch with an attacking A6M Zero
A6M Zero
The Mitsubishi A6M Zero was a long-range fighter aircraft operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was designated as the , and also designated as the Mitsubishi A6M Rei-sen and Mitsubishi Navy 12-shi Carrier Fighter. The A6M was usually referred to by the...
. The attacking Zero and the rest of its formation left to return to their carriers as Taylor neared Welch. Taylor continued to fire on several enemy aircraft until he ran out of ammunition, and both pilots headed back to Haleiwa. After landing and driving back to Wheeler, Taylor and Welch passed by their squadron commander, Major Gordon H. Austin, who noticed that they were wearing their tuxedo attire. Unaware of their earlier dogfights, he shouted at the two men, saying "Get back to Haleiwa! You know there's a war on?" The two pilots explained what they had done, and the commander thanked them. In a 2003 interview, Taylor reflected on his actions: "I wasn't in the least bit terrified, and let me tell you why: I was too young and too stupid to realize that I was in a lot of danger."
Records and awards
For their heroic action on December 7, the U.S. War Department in Communiqué No. 19 on December 13, 1941, designated Taylor and Welch as the first two American heroes of World War II, and awarded both the Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...
on January 8, 1942. Taylor learned that he was to receive the award in mid-December after reading several newspapers. The award is the United States' second highest honor for valor in action against an armed enemy. Additionally, he later received the Distinguished Service Medal
Distinguished Service Medal (United States)
The Distinguished Service Medal is the highest non-valorous military and civilian decoration of the United States military which is issued for exceptionally meritorious service to the government of the United States in either a senior government service position or as a senior officer of the United...
, the Legion of Merit
Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...
, the Air Medal
Air Medal
The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States. The award was created in 1942, and is awarded for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.-Criteria:...
, and a Purple Heart
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
for injuries he sustained. Both men were recommended for the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
, but were turned down because they had taken off without orders.
Military and National Guard service
44th Fighter Squadron
The 44th Fighter Squadron is part of the 18th Wing at Kadena Air Base, Japan.-Mission:The 44 FS operates operates the F-15 Eagle aircraft conducting air superiority missions.-History:...
, and went to the South Pacific at Henderson Field on Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
. He was able to record two additional aerial kills: the first on January 27 and the other on December 7, 1943, two years after the Pearl Harbor attack. This brought his total number of career kills to six, designating him a flying ace
Flying ace
A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...
. In Guadalcanal he was injured during an air raid and was sent back to the United States in 1943. In the U.S. he trained pilots in preparation of combat in Europe and was then assigned to the 12th Pursuit Squadron
12th Fighter Squadron
The 12th Fighter Squadron was part of the 3d Wing at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska until its decommission in September 2006. The squadron operated the F-15 Eagle aircraft conducting air superiority missions.-Mission:...
. At the end of World War II, Taylor had reached the rank of major
Major (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...
and went to the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
to command a squadron that used the first United States Air Force combat jets, the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star. Afterwards, he commanded the 4961st Special Weapons Test Group, became a tactical evaluator at the USAF Inspector General's office, and worked in The Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
. He was also the Deputy Chief of Staff and Plans for the Alaskan Air Command
Alaskan Air Command
Alaskan Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command. Established in 1945 under the United States Army Air Forces, its mission was to organize and administer the air defense system of Alaska, exercise direct control of all active measures, and coordinate all passive means of...
and was a long range planner on the Joint Staff.
After serving 27 years of active duty, he retired as a colonel in 1967 and soon started as the Assistant Adjutant General for the Alaska Air National Guard
Alaska Air National Guard
The Alaska Air National Guard is the component of the United States Air National Guard operating within the state of Alaska.-Overview:Alaska Air National Guard units are trained and equipped as part of the United States Air Force. The same ranks and insignia are used and National Guardsmen are...
, retiring as a brigadier general in 1971. Following his retirement from the armed services, Taylor worked in the insurance industry in Alaska until 1985.
Personal life and depictions in film
On May 9, 1942, Taylor married Flora Love Morrison of Hennessey, OklahomaHennessey, Oklahoma
Hennessey is a town in Kingfisher County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,058 at the 2000 census.-History:Hennessey is named after Pat Hennessy, an Irish freighter who was killed at the present townsite in April, 1874...
, whom he had met when she was visiting her father in Hawaii. Married for 64 years, the Taylors had two children: a daughter, Tina, son Ken II, three grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Taylor had homes in Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
and Green Valley, Arizona
Green Valley, Arizona
Green Valley is a census-designated place in Pima County, Arizona, United States. The population was 17,283 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Green Valley is located at ....
after retiring from the Air Force. While he lived in Anchorage, Taylor would vacation in Hawaii each year. Taylor's son later retired as a brigadier general commanding the Alaska Air National Guard, the same position formerly held by his father.
At a 50th anniversary symposium of the Pearl Harbor attack, Taylor met with a Japanese pilot who was part of the first wave of bombers to attack Pearl Harbor. The pilot reflected on Taylor's efforts, "I was impressed by Mr. Taylor's grit to storm into the pack of Japanese fighters", and Taylor also told a reporter "I have no hatred against Japanese people, but I do against those who started the war."
Taylor was a technical adviser for and was depicted in the 1970 film Tora! Tora! Tora!
Tora! Tora! Tora!
is a 1970 American-Japanese war film that dramatizes the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, to the extent these facts were known at the time of production. The film was directed by Richard Fleischer and stars an all-star cast, including So Yamamura, E.G...
, where actor Carl Reindel
Carl Reindel
Carl Warren Reindel was an American actor, best known for portraying Lieutenant Kenneth M. Taylor in the epic war film Tora! Tora! Tora!. Reindel also played "Stanton" in Steve McQueen's hit film Bullitt and "Lt. Comroe" in classic science fiction film The Andromeda Strain...
portrayed Taylor. The 2001 film Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor (film)
Pearl Harbor is a 2001 American action drama war film directed by Michael Bay and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Randall Wallace, who wrote the screenplay...
featured a sequence in which the characters portrayed by Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck
Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt , better known as Ben Affleck, is an American actor, film director, writer, and producer. He became known with his performances in Kevin Smith's films such as Mallrats and Chasing Amy...
and Josh Hartnett
Josh Hartnett
Joshua Daniel "Josh" Hartnett is an American actor and aspiring producer. He first came to audiences' attention in 1997 as "Michael Fitzgerald" in the television series Cracker. He made his feature film debut in 1998, co-starring with Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later for Miramax...
took to the skies to fight the Japanese. This sequence is understood to be a fill-in for Taylor's and Welch's roles in the actual Pearl Harbor attack, but the characters played by Affleck and Hartnett do not bear any other known similarities to Taylor and Welch. Unlike Tora! Tora! Tora!, Taylor was not consulted for the Pearl Harbor film, and later called the adaptation "... a piece of trash...over-sensationalized and distorted."
Death
Hernia
A hernia is the protrusion of an organ or the fascia of an organ through the wall of the cavity that normally contains it. A hiatal hernia occurs when the stomach protrudes into the mediastinum through the esophageal opening in the diaphragm....
at an assisted living residence in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
. His son stated that he wanted "to be remembered mostly as a good father, husband, grandfather and great-grandfather. He was very loyal and dutiful, and to him that was more important than what he did in the war." He was cremated and later buried at the Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
in June 2007 with full military honors. Alaska Senator Ted Stevens
Ted Stevens
Theodore Fulton "Ted" Stevens, Sr. was a United States Senator from Alaska, serving from December 24, 1968, until January 3, 2009, and thus the longest-serving Republican senator in history...
gave a eulogy
Eulogy
A eulogy is a speech or writing in praise of a person or thing, especially one recently deceased or retired. Eulogies may be given as part of funeral services. However, some denominations either discourage or do not permit eulogies at services to maintain respect for traditions...
at the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
prior to the service at Arlington.
External links
- Real War Vet Stories video Taylor speaks about the events of the Pearl Harbor attack
- Pearl Harbor Hero Site attempting to get Taylor's Distinguished Service Cross upgraded to the Medal of Honor