KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Flags over the Tennessee State Capitol are flying at half-staff on Wednesday in honor of Medal of Honor recipient Capt. Larry Taylor, who recently passed away.
Governor Bill Lee announced that the flags would be at half-staff on X and shared his respect for Taylor.
“We are forever indebted to Capt. Taylor for going above & beyond the call of duty to defend our nation,” wrote Lee.
Taylor received the Medal of Honor on September 5, 2023 , for his actions during the Vietnam War. During the war, he was a Cobra helicopter pilot and distinguished himself through gallantry and intrepidity. He died on January 28 at 81 years old.
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On the night of June 18, 1968, Taylor rescued four soldiers whom the North Vietnamese surrounded by landing his helicopter in the middle of the firefight and lifting the soldiers out of the fight to a safer location . The soldiers rescued on that night were David Hill of Visalia, Calif.; Robert Elsner of New York City; Gerald Patty of Maryville, Tenn.; and William P. Cohn of Norwich, Conn.