Capt. Larry Taylor received the award from President Biden for flying into heavy enemy fire to save four members of a reconnaissance team from almost certain death as they were about to be overrun.
President Joe Biden awards the Medal of Honor to Capt. Larry Taylor, an Army pilot from the Vietnam War who risked his life to rescue a reconnaissance team that was about to be overrun by the enemy, during a ceremony Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023, at the White House.on Tuesday, honoring the Army pilot who risked his life during the Vietnam War by flying into heavy enemy fire to save four members of a reconnaissance team from almost certain death as they were about to be overrun.
David Hill, one of the four Taylor saved that night, said his actions were what"we now call thinking outside the box." But with both helicopters nearly out of ammunition and the enemy continuing to advance, Taylor surveyed the team's intended escape route to a point near the river and concluded that the men would never make it.Now running low on fuel and almost out of ammunition himself, Taylor directed his wingman to fire the rounds left in his Minigun along the team's eastern flank and return to base camp, while Taylor fired his remaining rounds on the western flank.
During the medal ceremony, Biden said that Taylor's aircraft was"hit multiple times" and that, according to"Army standards, he could have left the fight." At one point, the president said, Taylor was directed to withdraw but"he refused to put his own life above the lives of those in need."The army says that what Taylor did that night had never been attempted., and Taylor wore facemasks to start the ceremony.
Taylor left Vietnam in August 1968. He was released from Army active duty in August 1970, having attained the rank of captain, and was discharged from the Army Reserve in October 1973.
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