Amos J. Taylor

Technical Sergeant Amos 'Buck' Taylor (September 28, 1920 - August 24, 2011 ) was a non-commissioned officer with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army during World War II. Taylor was one of the 140 Toccoa men of Easy Company. Taylor's life story was featured in the 2009 book We Who Are Alive and Remain: Untold Stories from Band of Brothers.

Youth
Taylor was born in Philadelphia. Upon graduation Taylor took an office job with SKF Bearings in Philadelphia for couple of years. Then he worked for Baldwin Locomotives and worked there until June 1942.

Military service
Taylor was the oldest of four brothers. His mother told them to join different branches of the army, so she would not lose all of them on the same day. All of the Taylor brothers survived the war. In July, 1942, Taylor enlisted and volunteered for paratroopers in Philadelphia.

Taylor was assigned to Easy Company and received training in Toccoa, Georgia under Captain Herbert Sobel. Taylor was an excellent shot. He and Darrell 'Shifty' Powers were the only two men in Easy Company to make expert marksman.

During his training in Fort Benning, Taylor went AWOL to meet with Elaine, whom he later married, in Jacksonville, because his three-day pass had been cancelled by Sobel. Taylor never hated Sobel but thought he could be quite unfair sometimes and could not be trusted for battle situation. Therefore, Taylor was one of the NCOs to participate in the mutiny initiated by Mike Ranney and Terrence 'Salty' Harris in England.

Taylor made his first combat jump on D-Day. He found Rod Strohl, Shifty Powers and William Kiehn after landing. They joined their own unit three or four days later, before Easy would fight in Carentan. Taylor was wounded right after the battle in Carentan and was evacuated to a hospital in England, where he lost the camera he brought with him into Normandy.

In September 17, 1944, Taylor made another jump for Operation Market Garden, which eventually failed. While Easy Company was defending the Island, Taylor participated in Operation Pegasus led by Frederick 'Moose' Heyliger in October 22, 1944. After Easy Company had been relieved, Taylor was involved in a traffic accident and was sent to a hospital in Nijmegen.

Taylor also fought in the Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne. On Christmas Eve, Taylor and Earl McClung found and killed the German that shot Walter Gordon. In January 1945, Taylor was shot in his leg in Foy, and was sent to an aid station. The wound was serious and the war was over for him. He then spent 11 months in hospitals for his injury.

Later years
Taylor was sent back to the States for further operation and rehabilitation. In May 19, 1945, he married Elaine while still in the rehab hospital. Elaine's wedding dress was made from Taylor's white silk reserve chute. After his discharge in December that year, Taylor worked for Veterans Administration in Philadelphia. Then he joined the CIA, which he had spent 25 years with.

Taylor family had lived in Seawll's Point for 30 years. They moved to Orange City in May, 2010. Taylor passed away in August 18, 2011, 18 days after his wife.