Bishop Introduces Bill to Honor Fallen Utah Soldier
WASHINGTON – Rep. Rob Bishop (UT-01) introduced HR 7163, a bill to designate the outstation of the Department of Veterans Affairs in North Ogden, UT, as the Major Brent Taylor Vet Center Outstation. Brent Russell Taylor served as Mayor of North Ogden City and as a Major in the Utah Army National Guard. On Saturday, November 3rd, 2018, Major Taylor was killed in an attack in Afghanistan.
From the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Rob Bishop spoke about Major Taylor and the designation of the Major Brent Taylor Vet Center Outstation.
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BISHOP: Major Brent Russell Taylor is one of six brothers to each wear the uniform of the United States Army.
While training Afghan security forces in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, Major Taylor was killed by an apparent insider attack on November 3rd in Kabul Province, while in the final months of deployment.
He is survived by his wife, Jennie, and seven children; Megan, Lincoln, Alex, Jacob, Ellie, Jonathan, & Caroline. In Utah, we will forever mourn with the family of Major Taylor. We will grieve his loss and honor his sacrifice.
As Major Taylor, and his brothers, passed through Basic Combat Training, they learned the Army Values in great detail. Those values are Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage.
Major Brent Taylor lived these values. First:
Loyalty
Major Taylor swore to bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States. He swore to support and defend our nation’s guiding document against all enemies. He demonstrated his loyalty to that oath time and time again.
Duty
Major Taylor earned a Bronze Star for, “his outstanding dedication to duty during combat operations in Iraq.” The Army says, “doing your duty means more than carrying out your assigned tasks.” Brent Taylor’s military service record shows he employed this guidance to the fullest. So too does his life outside the military.
Taylor was not only Major Taylor, he was also Mayor Taylor. His community and neighbors so entrusted him to lead and provide that they elected him mayor of North Ogden City, Utah. In that role, he did much more than ‘carry out his assigned tasks.’
He worked to beautify and improve the city. He aimed at creating a community that was welcoming to newcomers. In the pre-dawn morning of his last Christmas on earth, Mayor Taylor ventured out into the cold to oversee the snow plows and salt trucks as they cleared the roads and made his city safe.
Respect
Major Taylor not only enjoyed the respect of his family, community, and fellow service members. His praise came from across the globe. In a letter from Afghanistan to Mrs. Taylor following her husband’s death, an Afghan aviator said, “your husband taught me to … treat my children as treasured gifts, to be a better father, to be a better [husband], and to be a better man.”
A man does not receive that level of praise without first showing forth their own grand measure of respect. Major Brent Taylor knew about respect.
Selfless Service
As a high school senior in Chandler, Arizona, Brent delivered the Honors Speech at graduation and his instruction to the audience was to, “Go out. Be happy. Find peace and make a positive difference in the world.”
Major Taylor left his family and American soil on four deployments to serve and, ‘make a positive difference in the world.’ In that same Honors Speech, he gave the order to “stick with it to the end.” He, himself, did just that.
Honor
Major Taylor honored his faith, his family, his community, and his county throughout his short life. Brent’s social media postings are replete with photos of his children and family. They show images of love, service, and patriotism. Qualities of a man, husband, and father who honors his family and country.
In his last Facebook post, Brent implored that we all remember “we have far more as Americans that unites us than divides us.” He ended that post with the words, “God Bless America.”
Integrity
The army says that integrity is a quality you develop by adhering to moral principles and that the more choices you make based on integrity, the more this highly prized value will affect your relationships with family and friends.
The days since the sad passing of Major Brent Taylor have been filled with an outpouring of love and grief expressed by those who knew Brent. His integrity left an impression and his integrity affected his relationships.
Personal Courage
In September of 2007, Major Taylor was commanding a convoy in Iraq when he was hit by an insurgent IED. His vehicle was struck by shrapnel, asphalt, and concrete debris. For the wounds received in action, Major Taylor was awarded the Purple Heart. He would go on to deploy twice more.
Brent Taylor stood as an example of personal courage. He lived the Army Values.
In April of this year, the Department of Veterans Affairs opened a facility in North Ogden City. It’s a place where veterans and their families can go to receive counseling, support, and other help. It’s a place located right in the heart of Brent Taylor’s hometown and as a small gesture to his service and sacrifice, I have introduced a bill to name this VA facility, the “Major Brent Taylor Vet Center Outstation.”
The naming of a building will never repay the debt our nation owes Mayor Taylor or his family, but it can stand as a humble reminder of the citizen soldier who lost his life in the service of others.
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HOLD CLOSE
SHARE NEW SINGLE "CLOUD9"
NEW ALBUM
TIME OUT JANUARY 18, 2019
NOVEMBER 27 - Missouri pop rock band Hold Close have shared a new single, "Cloud9", off their upcoming album Time, out January 18, 2019 on Hopeless Records. Fans can check it out here: smarturl.it/Cloud9Visual
Speaking to the new single, vocalist Braxton Smiley said,
"cloud9: -n
seeking hope until it is gained,
letting go of what holds back or causes fear.
a vision of clarity.
a euphoric feeling of comfort and love"
Time is the follow-up to 2017's EP I'll Never Go Back. After working with Seth Henderson (Knuckle Puck, State Champs) on Time, Hold Close put together an extremely personal, introspective, heartbreaking album centered around growth, love, sorrow, death, and friendship.
Made up of vocalist Braxton Smiley, guitarists Jessee Everett and Charlie Edel, bassist Devon Edwards, and drummer Marshall Martin, the group have known each other since high school. Originally all playing in different bands, they got to know each other through the local scene.
When asked what he'd like fans to take away from the record, Smiley is decisive. "Definitely the very first line on the record: 'Time will always heal,'" he says. "Just give it time, everything is better. We all go through the same shit, you know. Whether it be everyday struggle stuff or family stuff or relationship or friendship or money or anything, it's all good. Be positive. In time, it'll just become how you want it to be."
Time is the band's first full-length record, and is out January 18, 2019 on Hopeless Records. Fans can pre-order it here: smarturl.it/HoldCloseTime. For more information, please visit: https://www.hopelessrecords.com/
Follow Hold Close:
http://www.holdcloseofficial.com/
https://www.instagram.com/holdcloseofficial/
https://twitter.com/holdclose_mo
https://www.facebook.com/HoldCloseOfficial/
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David Brooks Sr. (https://retiresmartomaha.com) is an Investment Adviser Representative (IAR) and the founder-president of Retire SMART. He has invested 20 years in the industry, has passed the Series 63, 65 and 66 securities exams and holds life and health insurance licenses in Iowa, Nebraska and South Carolina. Brooks has earned the Certified Income SpecialistⓇ (CISⓇ) and Certified Healthcare Reform Specialist (CHRSⓇ) designations. He has been published and quoted in The Wall Street Journal and Forbes and hosts a weekly radio program, Retire SMART with David Brooks, on Omaha’s 1420 AM/FM 94.5 The Answer.
