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| Cpl. Taylor, 101st Airborne, was killed in a successful attack near Best, Holland that netted more than 1,000 prisoners and captured one of the needed bridges. https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=17313845&ref=acom http://www.ww2marketgarden.com/battleatbest101stairbornedivision.html |
Today is National Gold Star Mother's Day, created by Congress in 1936 to recognize and honor the mothers who lost a son or daughter while serving in the US Armed Forces.
Lester A. Taylor never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on September 24, 1917 in Tennessee. His parents were also both born in Tennessee. His father worked as a farmer. Lester had an older sister, six younger sisters, and a younger brother.
While in California, he enlisted in the army on January 30, 1942. He had been working as a farmhand. He decided to volunteer for the Airborne and ended up as a corporal in Company I, 3rd Battalion, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.
Cpl. Taylor was with his unit when they jumped into Normandy in the dark early hours of D-Day. He survived that battle and jumped into Holland on September 17, 1944 as part of Operation Market Garden. Its mission was to capture the railroad and road bridges at Best. The Germans destroyed the railroad bridge just as the paratroopers were getting close. The highway bridge remained in German hands for two days until the 502nd successfully captured the bridge leaving more than 300 enemy dead and taking more than 1,000 prisoners. Cpl. Taylor was killed during this battle.
His grave is at Restview Cemetery in Loretto, Tennessee.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Join the public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100
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