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(U.S. Marine Corps Story by Cpl. Ryan Hageali)
A Marine is a Marine
If there was anywhere a teenage Thomas Taylor did not want to be when he was growing up, it was school. Growing up in Alabama, Taylor said he was more focused on cars and girls.
“I was not interested in school,” said Taylor. “If you could imagine me, a 17-year-old with no motivation, no vision, no opportunity. I liked cars and girls. I didn't care about anything else.”
As Taylor was failing high school, his father gave him the option to quit if he joined the military. An interested Taylor went to a recruiter’s office and thought about the World War II movies he had seen and was convinced. With the movies in mind, an interested Taylor made his way to a recruiters office and decided to enlist in the Marine Corps.
“At 17, I quit school and joined the Marine Corps for an opportunity for an adventure,” said Taylor.
In 1965, Taylor arrived at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island for recruit training and said it completely changed who he was and helped him grow up.
“Bootcamp was the hardest thing I had ever done but it motivated me to be successful, instilled drive and belief in myself and other Marines,” said Taylor.
Once Taylor completed bootcamp and then basic infantry training, he applied to join Force Reconnaissance. He had to attend a year-long training program to become a Reconnaissance Marine.
“I knew immediately that’s what I wanted to do, to be a parachutist, scuba diver, [wear] jungle gear, [have a] submachine gun, everything a young 17- or 18-year-old would want to do,” said Taylor. “I was accepted into the program, and it was a one-year training program and the end of that one year we transferred to Vietnam.”
With all the training and confidence, the Marine Corps had instilled in Taylor, he was ready to take on anything—but nothing could prepare him for the realities of war.
“We were highly trained when we arrived in Vietnam,” said Taylor. “We were well schooled on what Vietnam was all about, so we were probably much better prepared to go to Vietnam then most units. So, Vietnam was not really a concern until I arrived, and the first shots were fired, and then I realized this is real combat. This is life and death. It's serious. You make a mistake; you die or someone else dies.”
Taylor’s mission in Vietnam was to engage enemy forces and targets of opportunity by conducting ambushes and if possible, capture the enemy. He would be with six to eight man teams on almost all his missions. He said it was rare for them to become known to the enemy but when they did someone almost always was killed.
“We operated in the jungle so there would be no help from anyone,” said Taylor. “We were supposed to be covert and most of the time we were but sometimes we were compromised. Because we were in such small groups, if we were found out there was a good chance we would lose somebody.”
In 1968, Taylor and his team were compromised and forced to engage the enemy. During the firefight Taylor was wounded by multiple gunshots.
“There were many exceptional Marines I served with in 1st Force Recon during my two combat tours in Vietnam,” said Taylor. “But one man stands out, my team leader Gunnery Sgt. Roy Allen Fryman who on two occasions saved my life during firefights. Once while I was wounded and couldn’t reload my weapon, he moved forward and covered my withdrawal and another when the enemy threw a grenade at our team, he caught it in midair and threw it back at the enemy.”
Fryman, a recipient of the Navy Cross and Purple Heart, was killed in action on October 24, 1969.
Taylor was brought back to the United States to receive medical attention. Later, he would return to Vietnam and was wounded again qualifying him for his second Purple heart.
After two combat tours Taylor was Assigned to Inspector & Instructor duty. His commanding officer at the time encouraged Taylor to get his GED. Once he did, he started attending night classes at a local college and then entered the Degree Completion Program. Taylor graduated with honors earning an Associates of Science Degree in Criminal Justice.
In 1971, Taylor changed his Military Occupational Specialty to Military Police.
“It was an easy move from infantry to MP because of my formal training,” said Taylor. “There were very few formally trained MPs at this time. “My education was really an advantage to me while performing my law enforcement duties.”
Taylor returned to Parris Island in 1973 serving as the watch commander and training Non-Commissioned Officer. He also graduated as the honor graduate of the Police Investigator Course.
In 1975 Taylor was stationed at Camp Butler, serving as an undercover investigator on the drug and black-market team. In 1978 he was selected for the Degree Completion Program and earned his Bachelor of Science Degree with honors in criminal justice.
“Receiving my BS was a real exception in the 70’s,” said Taylor, “The Marines didn’t push education at all, it wasn’t important [at the time]. Very few Staff NCOs had more than a high school diploma. Formal education is now important to Marines and that’s a very smart move by the USMC.”
In 1981 Taylor was tasked to develop and instruct a new concept of tactical law enforcement, special reaction team, and marksman observer course for the Department of Defense.
“I was tasked to develop, design, and serve as the senior instructor for this course, I had complete confidence in completing this task,” said Taylor. “The Marines have given me all the skills necessary to complete the mission. Marines attended it and still do today. I was selected because Force Recon training techniques were the closest thing, they had to police tactical operations.”
The course Taylor developed would later be adopted by civilian law enforcement. Today the courses he developed are known as the Counter Terrorism Program and Special Reaction Team is still in use. Taylor was recognized as a distinguished instructor, the highest level an instructor can receive.
Master Sgt. Thomas Taylor retired from the Marine Corps in 1986. He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal and the Army Military Police Regiment Order of the Marerhaussee, Bronze which is rarely presented to other than Army Personnel.
In November 2021, Taylor returned to Parris Island to be the parade reviewing official for Papa Company’s graduation.
“The Marine Corps took a living, breathing 17-year-old and turned me into everything I am today,” said Taylor. “I have accomplished a lot in my life and it's because of walking across that parade deck,” he said while looking in the direction of Parris Island’s Peatross Parade Deck. “It sends chills up my spine to be quite honest,” Taylor said with a smile. “They look just like me in 1965. Marines of today are the same as the Marines of the 1960s.”
Taylor stood on the same parade deck that created the man he is today and watched the next generation take the torch and responsibility of defending their nation.
“A big thing that caught my eye is the number of females integrated into the entire system,” said Taylor. “I think it is a great thing. Back in the 60s the mindset was not that way; there’s female Marines and real Marines and that’s not like that anymore— a Marine is a Marine.”
From the eyes of a retired Marine to the next generation, Master Sgt. Taylor has one piece of advice for all: “As a young Marine, seize that opportunity and shoot for the top and you will be successful,” said Taylor.
| Date Taken: | 12.03.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 12.15.2021 13:23 |
| Story ID: | 411201 |
| Location: | PARRIS ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Hometown: | ANNISTON, ALABAMA, US |
| Web Views: | 266 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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