“No man left behind.”
Since the French and Indian War, this has been the U.S. military’s policy.
And this month, President Joe Biden made sure that a Vietnam Army Captain was rewarded for his heroic rescue of four American soldiers that had been surrounded by enemy forces.
Capt. Larry Taylor, 81, was awarded the U.S. military’s highest award for Valor.
Lt. Col. Ann Hughes said Taylor received the Medal of Honor due to his “conspicuous gallantry, his profound concern for his fellow soldiers, and his intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.”
In 1968, in the middle of the night, Taylor and another pilot were flying in a Cobra helicopter. Biden said that the helicopter was the “newest, fastest, deadliest Army helicopter at the time.
Photo by Jim Watson/Getty
Taylor and the pilot were responding to a call for help. Four U.S. soldiers had been on a recon mission, when they were suddenly surrounded by enemy force.
Biden said Taylor was to protect the trapped soldiers until a rescue helicopter could make it. But, he said, once Taylor and his co-pilot made it to the men, they were informed there were no other rescuers coming.
So, in the pitch black night, wondering if they were going to be hit by the enemy first, they told the soldiers on the ground to grab onto the helicopter anyway they could.
“They turned around and jumped on the aircraft — a couple were sitting on the skids, one was sitting on the rocket pods, and I don’t know where the other one was.
But they beat on the side of the ship twice, which meant, ‘Haul ass,’ ” Taylor told reporters. “And we did.”
The pilot flew straight to a safe area and landed, “Undoubtedly” saving the lives of the four men, Lt. Col. Hughes said.
“We took them down there and I landed, and I left my wide landing lights on and so the four of them ran out in front of the helicopter and then they turned around and lined up, all four of them, saluted, and then ran for the lights,” Taylor said.
Dave Hill (left), Larry Taylor (center), and Paul Elsner, patrol team lead, pose for a photo at annual unit reunion in 1999. This was the first time Hill and Elsner met Taylor since he rescued them in 1968. Photo courtesy of by Dave Hill
“When duty called, Larry did everything — did everything to answer,” Biden said during the ceremony. “And because of that, he rewrote the fate of four families for generations to come.”
That’s valor,” Biden said. “That’s our nation at its very best.”
Taylor ended his military service with more than 2,000 missions flown, more than 50 combat decorations, 43 Air Medals, a Bronze Star and two Distinguished Flying Crosses.
But for Taylor, nothing beat getting the Medal of Honor.
“That’s the ultimate. You can’t get any better than that. I’m thankful that we were able to get the [Soldiers] out that night, and all four of them became lifelong friends,” he said.
Taylor never thought he’d see the men he had saved, but in 1999, he met Dave Hill, one of the soldiers he had rescued. They were at a reunion together, and quickly became friends.
Hill, as well as other veterans, were determined that Taylor get rewarded for his service. They began a petition and campaigned for Taylor.
“Larry not only did his job, he went way above and beyond his duty at great risk of life,” Hill said. “It was a failure at the time to adequately recognize his valor, his courage, his dedication, and we were determined to turn that around.”
It took them seven years.
During the long-awaited ceremony, Biden told the crowded room, the simple response Taylor had to hearing about the honor.
“Now, when I called Larry to let him know he finally was receiving this recognition, his response was, ‘I thought you had to do something to receive the Medal of Honor.’ ”
He continued, “Well, Larry, you sure in hell did something, man. If you ask anyone here, I’m pretty sure they’d say… you did something extraordinary.”
Watch below for the moving ceremony and honoring of a brave man!
