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8th Air Force commander awards POW Medal to family of WWII Airman

  • Published
  • By Maj. Richard Komurek
  • 8th Air Force Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  The legacy of 8th Air Force Airmen who served during World War II was celebrated during a Prisoner of War Medal ceremony honoring Staff Sgt. James Taylor at the 8th Air Force Museum on Barksdale Air Force Base May 21.

Maj. Gen. Floyd Carpenter, 8th Air Force commander, presided over the ceremony and awarded the POW Medal to the family of Sergeant Taylor, who served as a B-17 flight maintenance gunner during the daytime bombing raids over Berlin.

On Oct. 6, 1944, Sergeant Taylor, a native of Grayson, La., was on a bombing mission from England to Germany when his aircraft was damaged by German flak and the entire crew bailed out. After being captured by the Germans, Sergeant Taylor was held captive in four different prison camps. After surviving eight months of captivity, he returned home to marry his hometown sweetheart and start a family of his own in Baton Rouge, La.

The posthumous presentation of the POW Medal to Sergeant Taylor, who died in 1976, marked an opportunity to remember and honor not only his service, but also the service all the other 8th Air Force Airmen who served in World War II, many of whom were killed or held Prisoner of War. In World War II, more than 26,000 members of the Mighty Eighth were killed and more than 30,000 Air Force Airmen were held prisoner by Axis powers.

"It's a very special day and a great honor for me to meet these people and recognize them for something done more than 50 years ago," said General Carpenter. "They're a part of our history and I thank this family for what they've done and the service they provided to our country."

The awarding of the POW Medal also gives closure to a multiyear effort by Sergeant Taylor's family to honor his service and sacrifice. Since the POW Medal wasn't established by President Ronald Reagan until 1986, 10 years after Sergeant Taylor's death, his sons Robert and James undertook the task of collecting information and submitting their father for the award.

"It has been a wonderful, wonderful day," said Mildred Taylor-McKeithen, the Airman's widow. "It brought back lots of memories and I'm very proud, very proud of him and the two boys that we had together. They have renewed their acquaintance with their dad, who never talked about his experiences very much. They've done the research and really have become appreciative of the life he led."

The POW Medal may be awarded to any person who was prisoner of war after April 5, 1917, the date the United States entered World War I. It features the eagle as a symbol of the United States and the American spirit which is enclosed by a ring of barbed wire and bayonet points symbolizing captivity and standing on alert for the opportunity to seize hold of freedom.