How Taylor Supports Its Troops:

• The Cities of Taylor and Hutto united to adopt the 1-4 Airborne Unit of the Fourth Infantry Division of the U.S. Army
• City leaders traveled to Fort Hood to learn about the troops, met Lt. Col. Brian Bennett, commander of the 1-4 ARB and his wife and head of the FTG
• Attended their re-deployment event. City leaders were introduced to the troops explaining how Taylor planned to help while they were in Iraq
• Invited FRG and remaining soldiers to the July 4th Red, White and Blue parade. They participated in the parade and were honored in the ceremony
• Community members served Thanksgiving dinner to undeployed troops and family members
• Taylor's Patriot's Day event honored troops, veterans, police and fire at the ceremony. The soldiers presented a Longbow replica to the City of Taylor in appreciation of Taylor’s support of the troops
• Collected hundreds of bags of sundries and goodies requested by the troops from clubs, organizations, businesses and individuals, and sent them to Iraq
• Local Ministerial Alliance provided Bibles for the troops
• Helped with FRG Holiday party for the families of the troops and the undeployed soldiers. Taylor brought Santa for the children
• Followed the troops through newspaper articles written by Lt. Col. Bennett while in Iraq
• Upon return from Iraq, provided items for the single soldiers
• Schools sent letters to the soldiers
• Provided a barbecue reception for the returning troops
• During Taylor’s 125th Anniversary Celebration, a monolith granite marker was placed in the City cemetery in honor of those who have fallen defending our country. The City cemetery is full of flags placed in honor of our loved ones by their loved ones
• Liberty Garden in Murphy Park honors all that have served our country; pavers, flag and a giant bronze eagle were placed by Taylor citizens in a beautiful, serene garden setting. This is an honored place in our City
• The local newspaper proudly displays military photos of local residents
• Memorial Day events held at Heritage Square in downtown Taylor and directed by a local veteran Lt. Col. Ed Komandosky
• Last year the FRG for the 1-112 Calvary let the Chamber know that she was operating without support, with no income, and needed to have a Christmas party for the children of the troops. Within a week, the citizens of Taylor had provided two toys for each child and a Santa Claus to hand them out.
• The Texas Army National Guard Alpha Troop 1-112 Calvary troopers (Ghost Riders) stationed at the Taylor armory deployed for Iraq on October 3, 2009. The City of Taylor contacted elected officials for the ceremony and gathered funds from all those who volunteered to help with the expenses. The Taylor Fire and Police Departments participated by helping with traffic control and placed a flag at the entrance for the troops to walk under while the Patriot Guard Riders stood at attention holding their flags at the front door. The local Girl Scouts and Brownies served the cookies and punch donated by individuals and the school’s food service. Letters were written by the middle school children in support of the troops and cookies and candy were provided for their bus trip to the deployment location. Everyone watched with great pride as the soldiers were promoted by their officers. Some of those same soldiers carried their small children out the doors of the school building not knowing when they would hold them again.
• At this time, the Sidney Pierce Post 4476 Veterans of Foreign Wars in Taylor is in the process of adopting the Alpha Troop 1-112 Calvary troopers of the TXANG.

Taylor is like every city in America: we too, have veterans that are our brothers and sisters, our parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles, and even our own children.

We teach the Constitution in our schools, say the Pledge of Allegiance at football games and pray at public meetings for the safety of our soldiers.