BELTON, Texas — In times of war, service members risk becoming prisoners of war or missing in action, and it's specialized teams that bring them home no matter the outcome.
These teams include service members like Tommie Taylor — retired U.S. Army veteran living in Central Texas.
Taylor's story begins in Newport News, Virginia.
”I’m a high school grad,” Taylor said.
“I hung around with kids that were into cars and stuff like that — I had a pretty good child life.”
After watching his father serve two tours in Vietnam, he chose to do the same.
”I spent 10 years as 11 Charlie in the infantry,” Taylor said.
“I went to Fort Jackson for basic, I went to Fort Benning for infantry qualification tests, and I went straight from Fort Benning to Vietnam.”
While in Vietnam, he was attached to the Central Identification Laboratory Thailand where he assisted in recovering POW and MIA service members in Southeast Asia.
”I learned about grave registration. I re-classed into grave registration and became what was known as a toe tagger, and then I spent 11 years as grave registration,” Taylor said.
Now in retirement, he takes every chance he gets to gather members of multiple Jeep and motorcycle clubs to join him in escorting unaccompanied veterans to their final resting place at the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery.
"He does this for closure for families and honoring the service members,” said fellow veteran and friend of Taylor, Brenda Hain.
Some of the fellow veterans that have had the chance to join Tommie in escorting the nation's heroes to their final home have a message for him.
”Tommie, you’re a wonderful man for doing this and I know that you’re doing it from your heart — which is the best place that anybody can do what they do for our military service members," Hain said.
“I'll be with you as long as I can.”
Tommie Taylor spent a career in the military bringing closure to families who lost their loved ones on the battlefield, and he continues to bring them home to rest at the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery.
