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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While the family is inter-faith, the funeral is graciously hosted by the LDS chapel located at 619 West 5750 South
Salt Lake City, this Friday at 3 pm.
Jeannette, the granddaughter who escaped the fire, is now living with her great grandmother. If people wish,
they can forward cards, donations, etc., to Lorena Joan Frear, c/o MOSAIC Inter-Faith Ministries 4392 South
900 East SLC, UT 84124. Her mail will be given to her unopened. Also, her granddaughter has "Go Fund Me"
sites on facebook.
The family is a four generation, and extended, volunteer family at MOSAIC Inter-Faith Ministries. These press
notices and releases are done with their permission.
Life, Like the Changing of the Seasons, Continues, Always Sacred...
Dr. Leslie Whited, CEO
MOSAIC Inter-Faith Ministries
Nia Imani Association Community Leadership Agency Award
Presented at Community Lutheran Church
Senator Maxine Washington, Keynote Speaker, Los Angeles, CA
Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian & Justice Agency Award
MOSAIC Inter-Faith Ministries
Celebrating 23 Years of Service
4392 South 900 East
Salt Lake City, Utah 84124
801-588-0139/801-721-2641/801-703-3274
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(November 28, 2018 — Salt Lake City, Utah) The Utah Patients Coalition today announces a new reorganization to support ongoing patient-centric medical cannabis reform in Utah.
Formed in 2017 as a Political Issues Committee (PIC), the Utah Patients Coalition has been reorganized as a Political Action Committee to support candidates and elected officials dedicated to ensuring safe access for patients in Utah to medical cannabis. Additionally, the new organization allows UPC to engage on legislative and political issues generally, not connected specifically to a ballot initiative.
With the favorable vote for Prop 2, many patients and advocates recognize the long road ahead for implementation and want to maintain the ability to support compassionate and knowledgeable candidates and reform proposals. The formation of a PAC will allow advocates and stakeholders to support such candidates and support good public policy.
The Utah Patients Coalition will now be directed by Desiree Hennessy, with Melissa Sue Butler as assistant director.
Desiree is a mother and caretaker to her son Hestevan who suffers from cerebral palsy and other debilitating painful physical and mental conditions. Melissa Sue Butler is a hospice nurse that has been a regular voice in the medical field for patient-focused compassionate laws.
“We are so thrilled to see the public affirmation for this medicine,” said Desiree, “and I am very excited to continue to advocate on behalf of patients throughout Utah. There’s a lot of work ahead, and we look forward to working with policymakers to ensure that the patient program being set up is functional, accessible, and gets our loved ones the medicine they need.”
“This new organization will allow us to continue working with elected officials for years to come to make sure the public voice is heard, and that patients aren’t criminalized,” Melissa said. “For years we’ve shared stories that have been heard—and now it’s time for action.”
Both Desiree and Melissa were original signers and sponsors of the ballot initiative proposal that became Prop 2. They will be assisted by David Karst, a patient and activist who was essential to the success of Prop 2 qualifying for the 2018 ballot.
The Utah Patients Coalition will continue to be an active voice in Utah on medical cannabis campaigns and policies that will impact the criminality of or accessibility to medical cannabis for patients in Utah.
