thedrifter
04-08-06, 07:56 AM
Marine death 'hard to imagine'
Milford grad had just visited school in Dec.
BY HOWARD WILKINSON | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Lance Cpl. Bryan Taylor came back to Milford High School in December in his Marine dress uniform to say goodbye to his favorite teachers before reporting for duty that would take him to Iraq.
Little did those teachers know it would be the last time they would see the 20-year-old they had watched grow from a happy-go-lucky freshman into a grown man with a purpose.
Friday, word came that the Miami Township man, who had been in Iraq for only a month, was dead - apparently the victim of gunfire while he fueled his Humvee near Baghdad.
"I told him back in December to be careful, to come home safe; and he said, 'Aw, don't worry about me,' " said LaRue Turner, the technology teacher who hit it off with Taylor. "It is hard to imagine him gone."
As of Friday night, there was no official confirmation of Taylor's death from the Department of Defense, which typically does not release information on casualties until 24 hours after official notification of the next-of-kin.
All day Friday, family members and friends converged on the Miami Township cul-de-sac where Richard and Sherri Taylor, the Marine's parents, live.
The family, through a friend, said they were not ready to comment on their son's death, choosing instead to remain inside their home with friends.
Taylor is the 21st Marine or soldier from Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky to be killed in Iraq. As of Friday, 2,344 members of the U.S. military had been killed in the war that began three years ago.
Taylor, a 2004 graduate of Milford High School, joined the Marine Corps last fall, going through boot camp in California.
In December, he was home on leave, visiting Milford High School and Live Oaks Career Development Center, where he studied computer-assisted drafting and manufacturing during his junior and senior years of high school.
Mark Lutz, the assistant principal at Milford High School, said Friday that he met with Taylor that day and listened as the young Marine talked excitedly of his training and the Marines he served with.
"He was more positive about it than I was," Lutz said. "I told him to watch out, be careful; and he said he would. He had a young person's bravado."
Lutz had known the youth since he was a freshman football player for the Milford Eagles - a talented tailback and a young man well-liked by teachers and fellow students.
After his graduation, Taylor would stop by Live Oaks occasionally to check on his younger brother, Matt, who is still a student there.
"I know he was a good big brother to Matt," Lutz said.
Both Turner and Lutz said they had not anticipated Taylor going into the Marines. But, in hindsight, both men said they understand the decision.
"He was like a lot of kids, looking for a direction for his life, for a challenge," Lutz said. "I think the Marines gave him a sense of direction."
Turner said he does not know why he and the young man hit if off so well, but their teacher-student relationship led to many hours of talk "about this and that, about his goals, his life in general."
"It's part of the joy of teaching - to see young people grow," Turner said, his voice breaking. "But there's no joy today. This is rough."
E-mail hwilkinson@enquirer.com
Ellie
Milford grad had just visited school in Dec.
BY HOWARD WILKINSON | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Lance Cpl. Bryan Taylor came back to Milford High School in December in his Marine dress uniform to say goodbye to his favorite teachers before reporting for duty that would take him to Iraq.
Little did those teachers know it would be the last time they would see the 20-year-old they had watched grow from a happy-go-lucky freshman into a grown man with a purpose.
Friday, word came that the Miami Township man, who had been in Iraq for only a month, was dead - apparently the victim of gunfire while he fueled his Humvee near Baghdad.
"I told him back in December to be careful, to come home safe; and he said, 'Aw, don't worry about me,' " said LaRue Turner, the technology teacher who hit it off with Taylor. "It is hard to imagine him gone."
As of Friday night, there was no official confirmation of Taylor's death from the Department of Defense, which typically does not release information on casualties until 24 hours after official notification of the next-of-kin.
All day Friday, family members and friends converged on the Miami Township cul-de-sac where Richard and Sherri Taylor, the Marine's parents, live.
The family, through a friend, said they were not ready to comment on their son's death, choosing instead to remain inside their home with friends.
Taylor is the 21st Marine or soldier from Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky to be killed in Iraq. As of Friday, 2,344 members of the U.S. military had been killed in the war that began three years ago.
Taylor, a 2004 graduate of Milford High School, joined the Marine Corps last fall, going through boot camp in California.
In December, he was home on leave, visiting Milford High School and Live Oaks Career Development Center, where he studied computer-assisted drafting and manufacturing during his junior and senior years of high school.
Mark Lutz, the assistant principal at Milford High School, said Friday that he met with Taylor that day and listened as the young Marine talked excitedly of his training and the Marines he served with.
"He was more positive about it than I was," Lutz said. "I told him to watch out, be careful; and he said he would. He had a young person's bravado."
Lutz had known the youth since he was a freshman football player for the Milford Eagles - a talented tailback and a young man well-liked by teachers and fellow students.
After his graduation, Taylor would stop by Live Oaks occasionally to check on his younger brother, Matt, who is still a student there.
"I know he was a good big brother to Matt," Lutz said.
Both Turner and Lutz said they had not anticipated Taylor going into the Marines. But, in hindsight, both men said they understand the decision.
"He was like a lot of kids, looking for a direction for his life, for a challenge," Lutz said. "I think the Marines gave him a sense of direction."
Turner said he does not know why he and the young man hit if off so well, but their teacher-student relationship led to many hours of talk "about this and that, about his goals, his life in general."
"It's part of the joy of teaching - to see young people grow," Turner said, his voice breaking. "But there's no joy today. This is rough."
E-mail hwilkinson@enquirer.com
Ellie