Soldier's actions rewrote families' history

Medal of Honor recipient, 1st. Lieutenant Taylor, on June 18, 1968, near the hamlet of Ap Go Cong, South Vietnam was flying a AHI-G Cobra attack helicopter when he received radio call for help.

He heard a whisper coming through the radio. "We are surrounded," the voice whispered. "We are surrounded."

The call came from a four-man recon team that was surrounded by about 100 enemy soldiers. Because it was dark, Taylor could not determine where they were. So he asked them to launch a flare — a move that would reveal their location to the enemy and himself as well.

Taylor flew dangerously low firing thousands of rounds against enemy positions. Now he was running low on fuel and ammunition. At this point, he could have left the fight, according to regulations. But Taylor believed in never leaving a comrade behind. 

Enemy rounds were now hitting his helicopter and he was out of ammunition. But despite enemy bullets striking all over his helicopter, he didn't leave. Instead, he used his landing lights to draw the enemy's attention so the patrol team could move to an extraction point that he had told them about.

The two-man helicopter was not designed to carry passengers, but Taylor was going to try to get the four men. He landed at the extraction point and the 4 men hung on the skids and rocket pads, he flew them out to safety.

Because of his heroism, he rewrote the fate of four families for generations to come. His Medal of Honor was late in coming. President Joe Biden awarded him the award Sept. 5.

Roger Gregory served as a captain in the 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam. He is a native of Sandpoint. He now is a business owner in Priest River.